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US Forces Think ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Could Still Be Alive

Rumors of his death have circulated many times.

US Forces Think ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Could Still Be Alive
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ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi might not be dead.

"If he's alive out there somewhere, we're looking for him every day. I don't think he's dead," Townsend said.

That's what Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend told reporters on Thursday in a press briefing.

Townsend says he has no idea where Baghdadi is but offered an "educated guess" that he's somewhere in the middle Euphrates River Valley.

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Rumors of Baghdadi's death have circulated many times. In June, Russian forces said they might have killed the ISIS leader during a May airstrike.

In July, a Syrian watchdog group said it "confirmed information" about his death.

The U.S. put up a $25 million reward for information on Baghdadi. Townsend said if they find the ISIS leader, they may not bother holding him.

"When we find him, I think we'll probably just try to kill him first," Townsend said.