Nouakchott - The jihadist group of notorious one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State organisation, according to an audio recording broadcasted by private Mauritanian agency Al-Akhbar.
Belmokhtar's Al-Murabitoun group was linked to Al-Qaeda, but one of its leading members said in the recording that it was now aligning itself with the IS organisation.
"The Al-Murabitoun movement pledges its allegiance to the caliph of Muslims Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (IS leader), thereby banishing divisions and dissent within the (Muslim community)," said Adnan Abu Walid Sahraoui.
The Mauritanian news agency, which regularly publishes statements by jihadists, said it had identified the voice in the audio as that of Sahraoui and that he was now the new leader of the group.
AFP was unable to obtain immediate confirmation from other sources.
AFP
