US declines to confirm arrest of al-Qaeda leader
The US Defence Department on Tuesday said it was still not ready to confirm the arrest last week of a top Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, as claimed by the Iraqi government.
"I still can't confirm that report to you," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.
His comments raised doubts about the arrest of a shadowy figure said to be the leader of the local Al-Qaeda umbrella group blamed for a wave of bloodshed, even as Iraq's prime minister hailed his capture.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office on Tuesday confirmed the arrest and Iraqi security forces released what they said was the first known picture of Baghdadi, showing a middle-aged man with dark skin and a close-cropped beard and mustache wearing a black shirt.
"The criminal terrorist Abu Omar al-Baghdadi is in the hands of justice," Maliki's office said in a statement.
The US military has previously raised doubts about Baghdadi's existence, once describing him as a fictional character.
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