Irish Muslim Held Over Obama 'Death Threat'

Police in Ireland have arrested a Muslim convert after he apparently made death threats against US President Barack Obama.

Khalid Kelly - who is also known as 'Taliban Terry' because of his pre-conversion name - was arrested at his Dublin home on Thursday.

The 44-year-old was quoted as telling a British newspaper he expected al Qaeda to kill Mr Obama during a visit to Ireland on May 23.

He could be held for up to three days before being charged or released.

Kelly's arrest came four days after an interview with him appeared in the Sunday Mirror.

"Personally I would feel happy if Obama was killed," he was quoted as saying.

"How could I not feel happy when a big enemy of Islam is gone?"

Mr Obama is due to spend the day in Dublin and the village of Moneygall, where his great-great-great-grandfather came from.

The Queen arrives in Ireland on Tuesday for a four-day visit. The joint planned security operation is said to involve 10,000 police and troops.

Kelly, a former Catholic altar boy, converted to Islam while imprisoned in Saudi Arabia in 2000 for selling illegal alcohol.

He has said he would like to see strict Sharia law introduced in Ireland, with public beheadings of drug dealers on Dublin's main road, O'Connell Street.