Top commander: ‘I don’t have a clue’ if ISIS leader is alive or dead

The top U.S. commander for the coalition fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria said Tuesday that he has no idea whether the terrorist group’s leader is alive or dead following a monitoring group’s claim to have verified his death.

“I don’t have a clue,” Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend told reporters Tuesday, annunciating each word. “Simple as that. So, don’t know if he’s alive, don’t know if he’s dead. I don’t know where he’s alive. I don’t know where his dead body is. I don’t have a clue.”

Earlier in the briefing, Townsend appeared to suggest he believes that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may be dead by saying he has no evidence the leader is alive but offered a more specific response when pressed.

Earlier Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a prominent United Kingdom-based monitor of the country’s conflicts, said on its Twitter it has “confirmed information” of Baghdadi’s death.

Confirmed information for the #SOHR about the death Abu Bakr #Baghdadi, the “Amir of the #IslamicState organization” pic.twitter.com/JivM08RJWI

— #المرصدالسوري #SOHR (@syriahr) July 11, 2017

Baghdadi has been falsely reported dead multiple times. But the observatory has a good track record of being correct in its reporting of the Syrian conflicts.

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Rami Abdulrahman, the director of the observatory, told Reuters activists working with him in Deir al-Zor had been told by ISIS sources that Baghdadi had died in the eastern countryside of that province, but not when or how.

The observatory’s claim comes after Russia last month said it was verifying whether one its airstrikes in Syria killed Baghdadi during a meeting of ISIS leaders outside the city of Raqqa.

U.S. officials have said they could not confirm Russia’s claim, which was met with much skepticism.

On Tuesday, Townsend said he’s gotten some reporting that Baghdadi was not killed by the Russians.

“But I don’t know,” he quickly added. “Since then, we’ve heard all kinds of reporting that he’s alive, that he’s dead. Quite honestly, don’t know.”

Baghdadi’s death would be a major blow to ISIS morale, especially coming on the heels of the loss of its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul.

But Townsend stressed that someone else would be able to lead the terrorist group in his place.

“As far as the prosecution of the enemy’s plans, I’m not so sure that it does matter,” he said. “I mean, they’re like any bureaucratic organization, to include our own forces. We have a succession of command. They have a succession of command. And I think they would implement it.”

Still, he said, he would “feel better” if Baghdadi were dead.

“I hope he’s deader than a doornail,” Townsend said. “If he’s not, as soon as we find out where he is, he will be.”