Earlier in July, Alsumaria News broadcaster claimed that Daesh issued a statement confirming Baghdadi's death. However, Russian services are verifying contradictory intelligence on whether al-Baghdadi is dead or alive, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier.
"Bottom line: I’ve seen nothing that would lead me to believe that the leader of ISIS [Daesh] has been removed from the battlefield," Rasmussen said at the Aspen Security Forum.
"I just don’t have information that would confirm his demise," Rasmussen said.
The National Counterterrorism Center director added that Daesh has a vested interest in signaling the United States should stop looking for Baghdadi.
Al-Baghdadi appeared in the media for the first time in 2014 when he declared the creation of a caliphate in the Middle East. Since then, the media several times reported about the death of Daesh leader, though the information has never been confirmed.
