BBC: Iraq al-Qaeda chief jail mystery By Magdi Abdelhadi BBC Arab affairs analyst

A prominent Cairo lawyer says the Egyptian man identified by the US as the new al-Qaeda leader in Iraq has been in jail in Egypt for seven years.

The lawyer, Mamdouh Ismail, who has represented Egyptian Islamists for many years, says he met the man days ago in a jail on the edge of Cairo.

He says the apparent contradictions in information may be part of a disinformation campaign by both sides.

However, independent verification is virtually impossible.

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