Amidst reports that Saif al-Adel, otherwise known as Muhammad Ibrahim Makkawi, has been appointed the new al Qaeda leader, a man claiming to be the real Makkawi insists that he has nothing to do with al Qaeda and describes 9/11 as a “fabrication”.

The source for the reports that al-Adel has become the al Qaeda number one, in the wake of the demise of Osama Bin Laden, is one time Libyan militant Noman Benotman, a former jihadi who renounced the ideology in 2002 and has since often been cited as a reliable source on al Qaeda activity by Western media and governments.

The case of al-Adel/Makkawi, however, raises significant questions and will only serve to create more mythology and suspicion concerning the real origins and objectives of the terror group.