Senior Qaeda figure in Iraq did not exist

US: Top al-Qaida in Iraq Figure Captured 18 Jul 2007 The highest-ranking Iraqi leader of 'al-Qaida' in Iraq has been arrested and told interrogators that Osama bin Laden's inner circle wields considerable influence over the Iraqi group, the U.S. command said Wednesday.

Senior Qaeda figure in Iraq did not exist: U.S. military 18 Jul 2007 A senior operative for al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] in Iraq who was caught this month has told his U.S. military interrogators a prominent al Qaeda-led group is just a front and its leader fictitious, a military spokesman said on Wednesday. Brigadier-General Kevin Bergner told a news conference that Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq, which was purportedly set up last year, did not exist. (Reuters)