Man burns self in front of White House

WASHINGTON -- A Falls Church, Va., man who worked as a federal informant on terrorism set himself on fire in front of the White House yesterday, hours after announcing his suicide attempt and citing his growing despondency over how the FBI managed his case.

Mohamed Alanssi, 52, approached the northwest guardhouse at 2:05 p.m. and asked security to deliver a note to President Bush. When Secret Service officers turned him away, he stepped about 15 feet away and used a lighter to ignite his jacket, according to US Park Police.

Officers doused the flames with fire extinguishers. He was taken to Washington Hospital Center, where he was listed in critical condition.

Alanssi, who is from Yemen and also uses the name Mohamed Alhadrami, recently discussed his work as a federal informant in a series of interviews with the Washington Post. Yesterday morning, he informed the newspaper by faxed letter and by telephone that he was going to "burn my body at unexpected place." He also sent a copy of a letter he said he had faxed to the FBI agent in New York who is handling his case.

In two telephone conversations yesterday, Alanssi told a Post reporter that he would provide 10 minutes' notice of his suicide attempt and that only then would he reveal the location. When he called a third time, Alanssi said he had poured gasoline and would be setting himself on fire in two minutes and it would take place by the White House. The newspaper informed District of Columbia Police.

In the recent interviews, Alanssi said he could not travel to his native country because the FBI, which is expecting him to testify at a terrorism trial in New York, was keeping his Yemeni passport.