Iraq releases video confession by "captured al-Qaida leader"

Iraqi authorities have released what they say is footage of the interrogation of a man who they described as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the al-Qaida front group the Islamic State of Iraq.

The Iraqi authorities on Monday released a video (seen on television here) showing the interrogation of a man they say is Abu Omar al- Baghdadi, chief of the Iraqi branch of Al-Qaeda, whose identity is subject to dispute. (AFP/Ali al-Saadi)

At a news conference in Baghdad, a military spokesman accused the Islamic State of Iraq of trying to foment a war between the country's Shiites and Sunnis.

In one of the video's excerpts, the man reported to be al-Baghdadi says he joined al-Qaida in 2005 and was chosen to lead the Islamic State of Iraq in 2006.

The government said it arrested al-Baghdadi on April the 23rd.

However, the Islamic State of Iraq denied the arrest and militant Web sites last week carried an audio message purportedly from al-Baghdadi, mocking the Iraqi government and denying he had been taken captive.