The certificate from Samarra High School for Boys shows a student strong in mathematics and geography.
His behaviour is marked as "good", and he has a solid 80 per cent average. One may have expected that the young man had a bright future. Instead, it seems, he chose a life in which he presides over mass killings, suicide bombings and beheadings.
The document, first published on Wednesday by the German broadcaster ARD, purports to show the grades of an Iraqi known by the pseudonym Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the notorious Islamic State group. An official from Samarra's department of education said he had seen the original certificate and confirmed it was genuine.
Issued under the name Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim, the document tallies with the scant information known about the secretive Islamic State leader, who was born Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badri in 1971 in Samarra, a city 130km north of Baghdad. His tribal name, Badri, is not shown.
A passport photo attached to the top of the document shows a young man with thick eyebrows who bears a striking resemblance to the extremist.
The images and documents, if verified, would offer a rare glimpse into the background of Baghdadi.