US Airways flight diverted because of man with magnet in backside

An Iraqi immigrant with a "suspicious device" stuffed into a body cavity was detained at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday and a Philadelphia-bound jetliner was diverted to Las Vegas because his luggage was aboard, authorities said.

Fadhel Al-Maliki, 35, of Atlantic City, N.J., had flown into Los Angeles from Philadelphia on Monday and was booked for a Tuesday return flight when he was chosen for extra security screening. He triggered an alert during the secondary screening and immediately told screeners about the device he was carrying, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

"He initially said it was therapeutic", she said.

The device had a wire and what may have been a magnet concealed in his rectum, officials said.

It did not contain any explosives, Eimiller said.