Islamic State of Iraq (al Qaeda in Iraq) Leader Captured in Baghdad

Okay, I forgot a big question mark in the headline of this post because we have been down this road before with false reports of the arrest of the head guy from the Islamic State of Iraq which is the political arm of al Qaeda in Iraq. The reason we have been "down this road before" is because the Iraqis have made some other claims of capturing or wounding this guy before and they turned out to be bogus but we'll have to see. The U.S. command in Iraq says they cannot confirm the news. Here's some of the details from the report over at The Long War Journal:

The Iraqi Army claimed to have captured Abu Omar al Baghdadi, the leader of al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq, during a raid today. The report has not been confirmed by the US military. The reported capture of Baghdadi takes place as two suicide bombers killed more than 60 Iraqis in attacks in Baghdad and Diyala.
Baghdadi was captured during a raid in eastern Baghdad, according to a report by the Al Iraqiyah television network. Brigadier General Qassim Atta, the official spokesman for the Baghdad Operational Command, confirmed that Baghdadi was captured by Iraqi forces based on an intelligence tip.
"The Iraqi security forces have arrested Abu Omar al Baghdadi, al Qaeda leader in Iraq and emir of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq," Atta said, according to Al Arabiyah Television.

What I find a little odd in all of this is that this guy was captured in eastern Baghdad - now perhaps he has returned to Baghdad with the withdrawl of American forces from most of Baghdad but I still say that a guy of this position would be in a more strongly held area of Iraq such as Diyala province or the city of Mosul.

But it won't stop me from hoping that this is true - I just don't think it is. One other issue is that al Baghdadi's true identity has been in question in the past - hell, a few years ago there were many that considered him to be a fictitious character. We'll have to wait and see.

Islamic State of Iraq leader reported captured

"The Iraqi security forces have arrested Abu Omar al Baghdadi, al Qaeda leader in Iraq and emir of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq," Atta said, according to Al Arabiyah Television. But the network indicated there are conflicting reports on where he was detained. Some reports indicated that Baghdadi was detained in Kirkuk or Diyala provinces.
Baghdadi's capture has not been confirmed
The US military has not confirmed Baghdadi's capture. "We have no operational reporting on this incident," First Lieutenant John Brimley, a Public Affairs Officer for the Media Operations Center in Baghdad told The Long War Journal.
Nibars Kazimi, an Iraq expert and visiting scholar at the Hudson Institute, said the Iraqi security forces are claiming a man named Ahmad 'Abid Ahmad Khamees al Majma'i was captured and he is being identified as Baghdadi.
Iraqi security forces have a poor track record on reporting on the capture or death of senior al Qaeda in Iraq leaders. This is the fourth time since 2007 that the Iraqi security forces have claimed Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al Masri, al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, were either killed or captured.
In February 2007, the spokesman for the Interior Ministry claimed that al Masri was wounded and captured in a major clash between al Qaeda forces and the Awakening and police forces near the city of Balad. Al Masri was not captured, but Abu Abdullah al Majamaia, an aide to al Masri who also is believed to lead his security detail, was.
In May 2007, Sunni tribes reported that al Masri was killed in a battle near Taji, just north of Baghdad. Iraq’s Ministry of Interior claimed its forces saw his body. Just days later, the Ministry of Interior said that Abu Omar al Baghdadi, the supposed leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, was reported killed in another battle in the town of Dhuluiya in Salahadin province. US forces confirmed that Muharib Abdul Latif al Jubouri, al Qaeda in Iraq's senior minister of information was killed, but neither al Masri nor Baghdadi were killed. In May 2008, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense announced the capture of al Masri, but just one day after that announcement, the US military denied that al Masri was in custody.
Al Masri and other senior al Qaeda operatives are thought to been recalled to Pakistan after al Qaeda's failure to break the Iraqi and US effort to secure Iraq during 2007.