A judge in Chile has ordered a Pakistani man to be held in a high-security prison under counterterrorism laws following his arrest at the U.S. Embassy in Santiago after traces of explosives were found on him.
Officials say the man, identified by the U.S. as 28-year-old Muhammad Saif-ur-Rehman Khan, was detained by Chilean police on May 10 after the U.S. Embassy's detectors were set off by traces of bomb-making material.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said U.S. officials had called Khan to come to embassy to "clarify" some information and the explosive detectors went off.
"We had information, [and] we have information on this individual," Crowley said. "We had brought him -- invited him -- to come to the embassy to clarify the information that we had on this individual, and as he came into the embassy, explosive detectors went off."
Reports quote a senior State Department official as saying said Khan had been invited to the embassy so officials could inform him that his visa for the United States was being revoked. It was not immediately clear why the visa was revoked.
On May 11, a Chilean judge ordered that Khan be detained for at least five more days under Chile's counterterrorism laws to give authorities more time to investigate the case.
Khan has not yet been charged with any crime. In brief comments to reporters on May 11, Khan denied being a terrorist and said he had no connection to any bombs.
compiled from agency reports
Officials say the man, identified by the U.S. as 28-year-old Muhammad Saif-ur-Rehman Khan, was detained by Chilean police on May 10 after the U.S. Embassy's detectors were set off by traces of bomb-making material.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said U.S. officials had called Khan to come to embassy to "clarify" some information and the explosive detectors went off.
"We had information, [and] we have information on this individual," Crowley said. "We had brought him -- invited him -- to come to the embassy to clarify the information that we had on this individual, and as he came into the embassy, explosive detectors went off."
Reports quote a senior State Department official as saying said Khan had been invited to the embassy so officials could inform him that his visa for the United States was being revoked. It was not immediately clear why the visa was revoked.
On May 11, a Chilean judge ordered that Khan be detained for at least five more days under Chile's counterterrorism laws to give authorities more time to investigate the case.
Khan has not yet been charged with any crime. In brief comments to reporters on May 11, Khan denied being a terrorist and said he had no connection to any bombs.
compiled from agency reports