Man sets fire to briefcase, coat outside White House

A bearded man shouting "Allah" was injured while apparently setting fire to his belongings outside the White House yesterday and was quickly subdued by Secret Service guards.

A Reuters reporter saw the man try to present a Manila envelope to guards near a Secret Service post on Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House West Wing.

Moments later, a plume of smoke rose above the guard post while two guards wrestled the man to the ground and a third extinguished flames that engulfed his briefcase and overcoat a few metres away.

The man, who appeared to suffer from a burn to his right hand, groaned and repeatedly shouted "Allah," as guards held him to the ground. The area was cordoned off and fire trucks and ambulances arrived on the scene.

Neither the Secret Service nor the White House had immediate comment on the incident and the man was not identified.