Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan said that the footage posted on the Internet on Saturday allegedly showing Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi at Mosul's grand mosque was "indisputably" not him.
"We have analyzed the footage ... and found it is a farce," he said.
Maan said army units had recently wounded Baghdadi in an air strike and that he had been transferred by ISIL militants to Syria for medical treatment.
A video was published by the ISIL, claiming to show Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi for the first time, ordering all Muslims to “obey” him.
RA/SHI