ADDS SOCOM GENERAL COMMENTS
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) - The Daesh terror group’s proclaimed "caliph" is likely still alive despite numerous claims of his death, Defense Secretary James Mattis said Friday.
"I think that he's alive, and I'll believe otherwise when we know we've killed him," Mattis told reporters. "But we're going after him."
Numerous claims have surfaced from monitors and countries of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death, most notably Russia, that said last month it believed it killed him in an airstrike as he met senior Daesh leaders.
American officials had been reluctant to confirm or deny the claim, but Mattis' comments are the strongest yet against Moscow's assertion.
Later Friday, the head of U.S. special forces said Baghdadi remains "absolutely relevant, because he's the iconic head of ISIS.
"The bottom line is we will get him eventually. It's not safe for him on this Earth for what he's done and what his organization has done," Army Gen. Raymond Thomas said. "In the meantime, we have absolutely dismantled his network."