Irish Muslim arrested in Dublin over Obama threats

Police said Khalid Kelly, a 44-year-old dubbed "Taliban Terry" by Dubliners, was arrested at his Dublin residence on suspicion of threatening to kill the U.S. leader. He could be held for up to three days before being charged or released.

The arrest came 10 days before Obama's arrival in Ireland and four days after a British newspaper, the Sunday Mirror, printed an interview with Kelly. He is Ireland's most outspoken supporter of al-Qaida and its slain founder, Osama bin Laden.

Kelly was quoted as telling the newspaper that he expected al-Qaida to kill Obama during his visit to Ireland in part because the country's police force is poorly armed. The article said Kelly would like to kill Obama himself but was too well-known to police here.

"Personally I would feel happy if Obama was killed. How could I not feel happy when a big enemy of Islam is gone?" Kelly was quoted as saying.

Obama is scheduled to spend May 23 in Dublin and the village of Moneygall, ancestral home of a great-great-great-grandfather who emigrated to the United States in 1850. Ireland is already ramping up a security operation involving 10,000 police and troops to protect both him and Queen Elizabeth II, who arrives Tuesday in Ireland for a four-day visit.