Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio is set to track an Al Qaeda leader in a hard-hitting new Ridley Scott drama.

The actor will play a journalist-turned-CIA agent who is given the task of locating a terrorist in Jordan reportedly planning an attack on America in Body of Lies.

The film, which will dredge up memories of 9/11 when Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden organized a terrorist attack on New York and Washington, is to shoot in Morocco later this year.

The project will re-team DiCaprio with The Departed screenwriter William Monahan, who will adapt the story from David Ignatius' book.