'Marine Reservist' Arrested In Pentagon Alert

A man arrested after a security alert near the Pentagon is a Marine Corps reservist, Fox News says.

He has been named as Lance Corporal Yonathan Melaku, who was detained in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia with a backpack, it was reported.

The backpack contained 5lbs of a substance labelled ammonium nitrate but tests showed it to be an "inert" substance, it was believed.

A notebook was reportedly also found in his bag with words such as Taliban and al Qaeda.

The 22-year-old suspect is a Muslim who joined the Marine Corps in August 2007 as a reservist, according to Fox News.

Authorities believe the individual was trying to cause disruption but not injure anyone.

He was taken into custody in the early hours after he apparently ran from police in Arlington Cemetery.

Authorities apparently traced him to a car found abandoned near a Pentagon car park.

Major roads around the Pentagon were closed for a time following the alert.

The suspect is described as being a motor transport specialist, and military officials said there was no evidence that he served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

FBI special agent Brenda Heck told reporters that the substance in the backpack was an unknown inert material but it would require further investigation.

She said there was no device in the backpack.

It was reported authorities searched for as many as three other people who were said to have fled the car on foot.

But Ms Heck said: "We believe he did act alone."