Islamic State Leader Still Alive Says Top US Army Chief

The man who commands coalition forces fighting Islamic State in Iraq has said that he is almost certain that the group’s leader is still alive.

In June, Russian officials said there was a high possibility Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been killed by one of its airstrikes on the outskirts of Raqqa.

US Army Lieutenant General -Stephen Townsend was addressing reporters from Iraq when he made the statement.

He said in response to a question asking about the importance of capturing Baghdadi:

“I don’t think he’s dead. We’re looking for him every day. If we find him, we’ll probably just try to kill him. I don’t think it’s worth going to the trouble of trying to capture him”.

His statements follow the Iraqi prime minister’s declaration of victory over the so-called Islamic state over Isis in the city of Tal Afar on Thursday.

He added:

“I’ve seen no convincing evidence, intelligence, or open-source or other rumour or otherwise that he’s dead … There are also some indicators in intelligence channels that he’s still alive.”