After 10 killings in 22 days, the hunt is finally over for America's most wanted

The intense anxiety thathas gripped the Washington area for the past three weeks lifted yesterday after police arrested a US army veteran and a teenager in connection with the series of snipershootings in the area.

John Muhammad, 41, a Gulf War veteran who converted to Islam and reportedly developed a hatred of America, was arrested in the early hours with 17-year-old John Lee Malvo as they slept in their car at a rest stop in Maryland.

Early today, police confirmed that a rifle and a tripod found in the car had been used in most of the 13 attacks. Officials said the Chevrolet had been modified to allow a rifle to be shot through a hole and to allow a passenger to climb in the boot.

The two men appeared in federal court in Baltimore late yesterday where Mr Muhammad was charged with preliminary firearms violations unrelated to the shootings.

When asked why he was in the courtroom, Mr Muhammad replied: "I know where I'm at. I know why I'm here."

Mr Malvo appeared in a closed hearing in juvenile court. Further charges are likely to be brought today.

Officials said they were confident the pair were responsible for the attacks that have left 10 people dead. "We got our guys," one told reporters. President George Bush was told the authorities believed they had caught the gunmen. Douglas Gansler, state attorney in Maryland's Montgomery County, said: "There's a strong feeling these people are related to the shootings." Asked if he believed the sniper was still at large, he said "no".

The men were arrested at 3.19am as they slept in their car in a rest area off Interstate 70, near Myersville and about 50 miles north-west of the nation's capital. Police were alerted by a man who heard a description, including a registration number, at a press conference an hour earlier.

At that conference, Montgomery's Police Chief, Charles Moose, yielded to the gunman's request to speak the words: "We have caught the sniper like a duck in a noose." The reference is from a folk tale in which a boastful rabbit tries to catch a duck in a noose but the bird flies off.

Police said the breakthrough came in a call to the sniper hotline ­ apparently from one of the two men ­ claiming responsibility not only for the sniper shootings but for a robbery at a liquor store in Montgomery, Alabama, in which an assistant was shot dead. There, a fingerprint was found, apparently belonging to Mr Malvo.

The fingerprint led investigators to a house in Tacoma, Washington state, where Mr Muhammad had been living with the teenager. The house is close to the army's Fort Lewis, base where Mr Muhammad was stationed in the 1980s. A Defence Department source said Mr Muhammad's army training was as a machinist, but he is believed to earned a marksmanship badge with an "expert" rating, the highest category.

Mr Muhammad, who was discharged from the army in the mid-90s, changed his name last year from John Williams after converting to Islam. Officials denied there was evidence of links with al-Qa'ida.

"It appears they are and have acted on their own," said Randy Carroll, the police chief in Bellingham, Washington.

Mr Muhammad has been married twice. Sheron Norman, a former sister-in-law, said he and Mr Malvo travelled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in July for a three-day visit. It was the first time family members had seen Mr Malvo, she said, and Mr Muhammad introduced him as his son. Mrs Norman, whose sister Carol Williams was Mr Muhammad's first wife, said the teenager was allowed to eat only crackers and honey. "You could tell he was scared," she said.

Mr Muhammad ­ who has divorced twice ­ is believed to have four children. Both marriages involved custody battles and at least one accusation he abducted the children.

Court documents show that his second wife, Wildred Muhammad, who lives in Maryland, described him as an irrational man who repeatedly threatened to "destroy" her life.