Extremist imam killed in shootout

Police enter the temporary home of the Masjid Al-Haqq mosque in Detroit

FBI agents have arrested members of a radical Sunni Islam group in the US, killing one of its leaders in a shootout at a Michigan warehouse.

Agents were trying to arrest Luqman Ameen Abdullah, 53, at a warehouse on charges that included conspiracy to sell stolen goods and illegal possession and sale of firearms.

Authorities also conducted raids elsewhere to try to round up 10 followers named in a federal complaint.

No-one was charged with terrorism but Abdullah was "advocating and encouraging his followers to commit violent acts against the US", FBI agent Gary Leone said in an affidavit filed with the 43-page criminal complaint.

FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said Abdullah refused to surrender, fired a weapon and was killed by gunfire from agents.

In the complaint, the FBI said Abdullah, also known as Christopher Thomas, was an imam of a Black Muslim radical group named Ummah whose primary mission was to establish an Islamic state within the US.

He told them it was their "duty to oppose the FBI and the government, and it does not matter if they die", Mr Leone said.

Abdullah regularly preached anti-government rhetoric and was trained, along with his followers, in the use of firearms, martial arts and swords, the agent said.

Mr Leone said members of the national group were mostly black, and that some had converted to Islam while in prisons across the US. He wrote: "Abdullah preaches that every Muslim should have a weapon and should not be scared to use their weapon when needed."

Seven of the 10 people charged with Abdullah are in custody, including a state prison inmate.