Austrian police arrested a Bosnian man today after he tried to enter the U.S. Embassy in Vienna with a backpack containing explosives, nails and Islamic literature, authorities said.

The suspect was described only as a 42-year-old native of Bosnia-Herzegovina who now lives in the province of Lower Austria, which encircles most of the capital. Police said they made the arrest a short distance from the embassy building in a neighborhood where security is tight.

It was unclear how far he made it into the embassy. Public broadcaster ORF, citing unidentified officials, reported that a metal detector sounded an alarm as the man was passing through security checks and that he fled immediately.

The US Department of Homeland Security and President Bush haven’t yet claimed credit for the arrest.