Abu Bakr al Baghdadi

Washington : The Pentagon on Friday released a statement saying that they believe Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is alive and still leading the terrorist group.



"We do think Baghdadi is alive and is still leading ISIL and we are obviously doing everything we can to track his movements," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told CNN.



"If we get the opportunity, we certainly would take advantage of any opportunity to deliver him the justice he deserves," he said.



"We're doing everything we can. This is something we're spending a lot of time on."



Last month, Baghdadi had released an audio message urging people to defend the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. It is still not clear if he is hiding in the same city or has moved to a different location.



US had declared a bounty of $25 million over his head in mid-December.