U.S. President Barack Obama expressed concern Sunday about the arrest of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya by military troops in the Central American country.

"I am deeply concerned by reports coming out of Honduras regarding the detention and expulsion of President Mel Zelaya," Obama said in a statement released by the White House just hours after the Honduran leader's detainment.

Military troops arrested Zelaya before a proposed referendum on presidential term limits.

Soldiers surrounded the president's house and then took Zelaya to an airbase, the newspaper El Heraldo reported on its Web site.

Zelaya wanted to seek a second term next year. By law, the Honduran leader, elected in 2006, is limited to one term in office.

Zelaya told a Spanish newspaper last week he suspected a military coup was in the making. The president's prediction came amid controversy over his firing of the head of the Honduran armed forces.