ISIS leader says extremists will fight to last man

BEIRUT -- The head of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has said it will fight to the last man.

The comments by the militant group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, came in an audio statement, his first since a U.S.-led alliance began conducting airstrikes targeting the group in Iraq and Syria.

In the statement, released Thursday on social media networks, he says his fighters 'will never leave fighting, even if only one soldier remains.'

The recording appeared authentic, and his voice appeared to correspond with previous recordings released by the group.

Al-Baghdadi's statement came after rumors that he was wounded in an airstrike. It was not clear whether the recording was made before or after the incident.

CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer reports that the U.S.-led airstrikes have slowed the militants' speedy advance and helped Kurdish peshmerga soldiers in the north hold their ground.

In the town of Kobani, they even pushed ISIS back, but that was an exception.

In spite of the U.S. military spending an average of $8.3 million a day on this operation, ISIS hasn't given up much -- if any -- territory. It still controls a huge wedge -- more than 10,000 square miles -- of Iraq and Syria, including major roads and border crossings.

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