We’re going after him, says Mattis

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.