A top US military commander today said, Islamic State (IS)group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appears to be still alive. Contradicting Russia's claims that it probably killed Baghdadi months ago, Army Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, who commands the coalition forces fighting IS in Iraq and Syria said there are some indicators in intelligence channels that Baghdadi is alive. <br/><br/>Speaking to reporters from his headquarters in Baghdad, Townsend said US and coalition forces are actively searching for al-Baghdadi. He said, Baghdadi would be hiding at the Middle Euphrates River Valley, stretching approximately from the city of Deir el-Zour in eastern Syria to the town of Rawa in western Iraq. Townsend said this area is shaping up to be the group's last stand following its ouster from nearly all of northern Iraq.<br/><br/>The IS militants, who swept into Iraq in 2014 against minimal resistance from the Iraqi army, still control a large area of eastern Syria along the border with Iraq, as well as parts of Raqqa, the capital of the group's self-styled caliphate.