Have Iraq militants kidnapped a toy?

An Iraqi insurgent group claiming to have kidnapped a US soldier yesterday threatened to kill him if prisoners were not freed.

But American military chiefs last night insisted none of their troops was missing. And a US website claimed the picture had been faked using an Action Man-style toy.

The Drudge Report posted pictures of the model allegedly used in the photograph. Earlier, a little-known group, Mujahideen Squadrons, said they captured the American, John Adam, after killing a 'number of his comrades and taking the others hostage'. It published a picture on an Islamist website appearing to show a US soldier in front of a black banner with a rifle pointed at his head.

A statement said: 'We will cut his throat in 72 hours if our male and female prisoners in the occupation jails are not released.' The authenticity of the claim could not be verified and some US military experts said there were discrepancies in the man's uniform.