(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Ansar Beit Al Maqdis, which has carried out a string of deadly attacks from its stronghold in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, said it was pledging its loyalty to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.
The leader of the ISIS won the allegiance of Egypt's deadliest militant group on Monday as Iraqi authorities investigated reports he had been killed or wounded in a US air strike.
Ansar Beit Al Maqdis, which has carried out a string of deadly attacks from its stronghold in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, said it was pledging its loyalty to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.
Speculation has swirled that Baghdadi, whose group has seized large parts of Iraq and Syria, was killed or wounded in a US strike on militant leaders in northern Iraq on Friday, but officials said there was no confirmation.
"There is no accurate information and we are investigating," a senior intelligence official said on Monday when asked about Baghdadi's fate.
In a recording posted on its Twitter account, Ansar Beit Al Maqdis promised its loyalty to ISIS and urged other Muslims to do the same.
"We announce our pledge of allegiance to the caliph Ibrahim Ibn Awad... to listen and obey," the audio recording said, using another name for Baghdadi.
"We call on all Muslims everywhere to pledge allegiance to the caliph and support him," the recording said.
It was the most significant vow of support for ISIS in the region outside Iraq and Syria, suggesting its influence over militant groups is overshadowing its once dominant Al Qaeda rivals.
Ansar Beit Al Maqdis, which means "Partisans of Jerusalem", has killed scores of police and soldiers since the Egyptian army ousted president Mohammed Mursi in July last year.
It was not immediately clear whether its pledge of allegiance would mean a shift in tactics to attack Western targets in Egypt, as demanded by the ISIS leadership.
Strikes hit a gathering of ISIS leaders late on Friday near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the Pentagon said, sparking reports that Baghdadi may have been killed or wounded there, or in a separate strike in western Anbar province.
The death of the elusive ISIS leader would be a major victory for the coalition, but US and Iraqi officials have so far been unable to confirm he was targeted.
It is unclear whether officials even know if he was at the gathering, given the dearth of intelligence from ISIS-held areas of Iraq and Syria.
US President Barack Obama said on Sunday that the battle against ISIS was entering a "new phase" after several months of air strikes, with the focus moving to tackling the militants on the ground.
"Rather than just try to halt (ISIS's) momentum, we're now in a position to start going on some offence," Obama said, after earlier unveiling plans to send up to 1,500 more American troops to Iraq to advise and train its forces.
Obama, who pulled US forces from Iraq in 2011, again vowed that they would not be engaged in combat under the new mission.
Going on the offensive will be a significant challenge for Iraq's forces, which saw multiple divisions fall apart in the early days of the militant offensive, leaving major units that need to be reconstituted.
Iraqi pro-government forces have made some recent gains against ISIS - including a breakthrough last week that saw them take more than 70 per cent of the northern town of Baiji - but the need to train Iraqi forces means large-scale offensive operations are not likely to take place for some time.
As well as Ansar Beit Al Maqdis in Egypt, several other groups in Libya and Algeria have pledged allegiance to ISIS.
While it is clear the group's influence is growing, major Al Qaeda branches have not recognised Baghdadi's authority and its Syrian affiliate Al Nusra Front has clashed with ISIS fighters.
But analysts are warning that ISIS, considered by many to be even more brutal and violent than Al Qaeda, is becoming the worldwide benchmark for militants.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.