US soldier 'tried to contact al-Qaida'

A National Guardsman is facing charges of attempting to give information to the al-Qaida network.

US defence officials said Ryan Anderson, 26, signed on to extremist internet chatrooms and tried to get in touch with al-Qaida operatives.

He's accused of offering the organisation information on US military capabilities and weaponry.

It is unclear how the US government learned of his alleged offer, but authorities began monitoring his communications, say officials.

It does not appear he actually transmitted any information to al-Qaida.

Anderson became a Muslim during the last five years, officials said.

Army Lt Col Stephen Barger said he is being held at Fort Lewis "pending criminal charges of aiding the enemy by wrongfully attempting to communicate and give intelligence to the al-Qaida terrorist network".

Mr Barger said Anderson was taken into custody in a joint investigation by the Army, Justice Department and FBI. He is being held at the Fort Lewis Regional Corrections Facility near Tacoma, Washington.

Anderson is a tank crew member from the National Guard's 81st Armour Brigade, a 4,200-member unit set to depart for Iraq. It is the biggest deployment for the Washington Army National Guard since the Second World War. Washington State University spokeswoman Charleen Taylor said Anderson was a 2002 graduate with a degree in history. He studied military history with an emphasis on the Middle East.

The brigade has been training at Fort Lewis since November. Eighty per cent of the soldiers - 3,200 - are from Washington state, and 1,000 are from guard units in California and Minnesota.