Burned man an FBI informant

A man who set himself on fire outside the White House yesterday was a Yemeni federal informant on terrorism upset over how the FBI had managed his case, the Washington Post said.

Mohammed Alanssi, who had recently discussed his work as an informant with the Post, told the newspaper by faxed letter and telephone that he intended to "burn my body at unexpected place".

Police said that a Middle Eastern male in his early 50s approached the White House with a letter for the President. After a brief conversation with Secret Service officers, he pulled a lighter from his pocket and ignited his jacket, causing burns to 30 per cent of his body.