Iraqi police commanders are claiming to have captured the leader of al-Qa'ida in Iraq during a raid in the nothern city of Mosul.
However, the US military says it has no information to confirm the capture of Abu Ayyab al-Masri, an Egyptian who also goes by the name Abu Hamza al-Muhajir.
Al-Masri took over as the leader of al-Qa'ida in Iraq following the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a US bombing raid almost two years ago.
Iraqi officials say he was arrested in Mosul last night, but the US appears to be playing down the claims, saying the capture of another insurgent may have caused confusion.
Previous reports claiming al-Masri had been killed in 2006 and 2007 have turned out to be false.
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