Jihadists spearheading a Sunni militant offensive in Iraq have declared an “Islamic caliphate” and ordered Muslims worldwide to pledge allegiance to their chief, in a spectacular bid to extend their authority.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant renamed itself simply the Islamic State (IS) and declared its shadowy frontman the leader of the world’s Muslims, in a clear challenge to al-Qaeda for control of the global jihadist movement.
Meanwhile, Iraqi forces yesterday pressed a counteroffensive against former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, one of a string of towns and cities overrun by IS-led fighters in a swift advance that left more than 1,000 people dead, displaced hundreds of thousands and piled pressure on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Maliki’s bid for a third term in office has been battered by the offensive and he is no longer seen as the clear frontrunner when parliament reopens today following elections in April.
The Islamic State announced on Sunday it was establishing a caliphate — an Islamic form of government last seen under the Ottoman Empire — extending now from Aleppo in northern Syria to Diyala Province in eastern Iraq, the regions where it has fought against the regimes in power.
In an audio recording released online, the group declared its chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi “the caliph” and “leader for Muslims everywhere.” Henceforth, the group said, he is to be known as “Caliph Ibrahim” — a reference to his real name.
Though the move may not have immediate significant impact on the ground, it is an indicator of the group’s confidence and marks a move against al-Qaeda in particular, analysts say.
The caliphate is “the biggest development in international jihad since September 11”, said Charles Lister of the Brookings Institution in Doha, referring to the al-Qaeda attacks on the US in 2001. “It could mark the birth of a new era of transnational jihadism ... and that poses a real danger to al-Qaeda and its leadership.”
Al-Baghdadi, thought to have been born in the Iraqi city of Samarra in 1971, is touted by the group as a battle-hardened tactician who fought US forces following the 2003 US-led invasion, and is now widely seen as rivaling al-Qaeda boss Ayman al-Zawahiri as the world’s most influential jihadist.
His group has drawn thousands of foreign fighters, attracted by a combination of Baghdadi’s own appeal, IS’ efforts to establish what it believes is an ideal Islamic state, and IS’ sophisticated propaganda apparatus, which publishes a wide variety of magazines and videos.
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