In an effort to dispel rumors that its leader has been killed, ISIS on Thursday released a 17-minute audio recording of a man purported to be Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, USA Today reported.

The message reportedly condemns President Barack Obama's decision to up the number of advisers in Iraq.

"Here is Obama who has ordered the deployment of 1,500 additional soldiers under the claim that they are advisers because the crusaders' airstrikes and constant bombardment -- day and night -- upon the position of the Islamic State have not prevented its advance, nor weakened its resolve," the man believed to be al-Baghdadi said.

Obama's announcement concerning the advisers was made on Nov. 7, ABC News noted.

The transcription was furnished by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi websites. The Associated Press, meanwhile, said the recording appeared to be authentic based on al-Baghdadi's voice and previous ISIS recordings.

Al-Baghdadi, who refers to himself as Caliph Ibrahim, leads the Islamic extremist group that now calls itself the "Islamic State." It had previously been known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL. The White House and some major news organizations continue to refer to the group using the acronyms.

"Changing its name to the Islamic State was not merely a ploy in semantics," Al-Jazeera judged this week. "The declaration of the Islamic State was to prove that it had achieved what al-Qaida failed to do. ISIL had been transformed from a terrorist group, led by a charismatic leader, to a terrorist group administrating territory."

Earlier this week, Iraqi government officials said they believe al-Baghdadi was killed or injured in a weekend airstrike on an ISIS position near al-Qaim, near the Syrian border, USA Today said.

The U.S. government lists al-Baghdadi as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" and is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture.

"(He) is in charge of overseeing all (ISIS) operations and is currently based in Syria," the U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice said, according to ABC News

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