US prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against a man accused of beheading a woman at an Oklahoma food processing plant.

District Attorney Greg Mashburn said he discussed his plans with the victim's family and that he could file the paperwork as early as this week.

Prosecutors have charged 30-year-old Alton Nolen with first-degree murder in the death of Colleen Hufford, and with two counts of assault.

A judge has ordered Nolen to be held without bond, and Nolen asked the judge to name a Muslim as his court-appointed lawyer.

Nolen is a recent convert to Islam. The FBI is investigating because of the nature of the attack, which followed a series of high-profile videotaped beheadings by Islamic State militants in the Middle East.

Ms Hufford was killed at Vaughan Foods in Moore, Oklahoma. Another woman was injured, while Nolen was shot and injured by a reserve police officer before being arrested.

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