WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- A man who set himself on fire outside the White House on Monday claimed to be an informant of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

    Mohamed Alanssi, 52, approached the northwest guardhouse on Pennsylvania Avenue about 2:05 pm local time and asked security officers to deliver a note to President George W. Bush.

    When turned away by Secret Service officers, Alanssi ignited hisjacket with a lighter, the report quoted the US Park Police as saying. The fire was extinguished and he was subdued by the officers.

    Alanssi was taken to Washington Hospital Center, where he was said by hospital authorities to be in a critical condition with burns to about 30 percent of his body. Enditem