LosAngelesTimes--  A media outlet linked to the Syrian military reported Friday that Abu Bakr Baghdadi had been spotted in the eastern town of Bukamal during a recent offensive to recapture ISIS last urban stronghold in Syria. But Baghdadi sightings have been reported before. So has his death. None of it has ever been confirmed.

The latest claim was also carried by a media unit operated by the Lebanese Shia militia, Hezbollah, whose forces took part in the operation in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

No further details were provided, however, including what the source was for the purported sighting.

The capture or killing of Baghdadi — who has a $25-million U.S. bounty on his head — would be another significant blow to ISIS, which has lost more than 90% of the territory it once controlled in Syria and Iraq following multiple offensives on both sides of the border.

But Syrian opposition activists with contacts in the region were skeptical that Baghdadi was holed up inside Bukamal, where fierce clashes were reported Friday. 

The U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq said it did not have any “verifiable information” concerning Baghdadi’s whereabouts. Neither the coalition nor the Syrian militias it supports are operating in the immediate vicinity of Bukamal, it said in an email.