The leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, is reportedly still alive and hiding in the border area between Syria and Iraq, a senior US general said.

"We're looking for him every day. I don't think he's dead," said Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, commander of the counter-IS coalition in Iraq and Syria, according to AFP.

Townsend said he “didn’t have a clue” as to Baghdadi’s whereabouts, but believes he fled with many IS militants into the Middle Euphrates region, stretching from Syria to Iraq after the defeats ISIS has faced in Mosul, Raqqa and Tal Afar.

"The last stand of ISIS will be in the Middle Euphrates River Valley," he said.

"When we find him, I think we'll just try to kill him first. It's probably not worth all the trouble to try and capture him."

Baghdadi, one of the most wanted men alive, has a $25 million bounty on his head, and has been a target for elimination for years.

The so-called caliph was claimed to be dead by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, but many remain skeptical.

Disclaimer: This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition