American Hostage Hoax

taken from Backcountry Conservative:

AP and Reuters carry the following story:

A little-known Iraqi insurgent group said on Tuesday it was holding a U.S. soldier and threatened to kill him within 72 hours if Iraqi prisoners were not released, according to an Internet statement.

"Our mujahideen ... have managed to capture the American soldier John Adam after killing a number of his colleagues," said the Mujahideen Squadrons in the undated statement.

It carried a picture appearing to show a U.S. soldier sitting in front of a black banner with a rifle pointed at his head. The authenticity of the claim, which did not say where the man was seized, could not be verified.

"We will cut his throat in 72 hours if our male and female prisoners in the occupation jails are not released," it said.

A group using the same name, Mujahideen Squadrons, last month claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of a Brazilian engineer in Iraq.

Insurgents in Iraq, including al Qaeda's wing in Iraq, have been waging attacks on U.S.-led forces since they invaded the country in 2003.

14:10: Kevin Aylward and Drudge have this picture:

14:35: Both Kevin and Rusty have questioned the authenticity of the photograph based on two factors: 1. the size of the person's head; 2. the fact that the weapon used is an American rifle rather than an AK-47

14:42: James Joyner weighs in and agrees with Evan Kohlmann and others that the picture looks fishy. A comment by Michele on Kevin's post points to this G.I. Joe action figure that looks alot like the "soldier" in the picture.