Baghdadi is still alive: U.S. Defence Secretary

We’re going after him, says Mattis

(FILES) This July 5, 2014 file video grab taken from a propaganda video by al-Furqan Media allegedly shows the leader of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, aka Caliph Ibrahim, adressing Muslim worshippers at a mosque in the militant-held northern Iraqi city of Mosul. The US military can not confirm reports that the Islamic State group leader may have been struck in an airstrike, but a Pentagon official suggested on November 10, 2014 that lower-level figures may have been hit. Speculation has swirled over the fate of jihadist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after local claims that he was killed or wounded in a strike by the US-led air armada targeting his group. Baghdadi is the self-declared "caliph" of the radical group that has seized large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria. AFP PHOTO / HO / AL-FURQAN MEDIA == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / AL-FURQAN MEDIA " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES, AFP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED ==

U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis said he believed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was still alive, shooting down claims that he was killed in an airstrike.

“I think Baghdadi’s alive... And I’ll believe otherwise when we know we’ve killed him,” Mr. Mattis said. “But, we’re going after him. We assume he’s alive,” he told reporters on Friday.

Last month, the Russian military claimed that it had struck a meeting of Baghdadi near Raqqa, Syria, in which Baghdadi was possibly killed. Multiple other reports in recent weeks have suggested that Baghdadi was killed in Iraq or Syria. Since making his public appearance as “caliph” in 2014, he has not been seen.

Pentagon officials said Baghdadi was no longer is involved in the IS’ day-to-day operations. But Mr. Mattis said Baghdadi still had a role to play in the outfit.