Baghdadi not killed; existence questioned

"On Thursday, Iraqi government officials said the man who had been killed was actually Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni insurgent umbrella organization said to have been created by al-Qaeda in Iraq.
But [Maj. Gen William B.] Caldwell questioned whether Baghdadi 'even exists,' stressing that the U.S. military had nobody, 'alive or dead,' that is 'going through any kind of testing or analysis at this point,' referring to both Masri and Baghdadi.
'There's a lot of discussion about a person called al-Baghdadi, but we actually have no knowledge who that might be,' Caldwell said.
The Islamic State of Iraq, in a statement posted on an insurgent Web site, asserted that Jubouri had been "martyred" but that Baghdadi was still alive.
'We assure the nation that our chief 'Abu Omar al-Baghdadi' is still enjoying the blessings of God, and that what media agencies stated that he was killed is not true,' the statement read."

source
Raghavan, Sudarsan. (The Washington Post). U.S. Identifies Dead Insurgent As Group's Propaganda Chief. May 4, 2007.

posted: sunday, may 6, 2007, 11:59 PM ET
update: monday, may 7, 2007, 12:04 AM ET

tags: iraq abu omar al-baghdadi conspiracy theory