The head of Al Qaeda's Iraq branch, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, said he has mobilised 12,000 fighters for a self-styled 'Islamic state of Iraq,' in an audio message posted on Friday on the Internet.
"I tell the commander of the faithful, the honourable Sheikh Abu Omar al-Baghdadi: I have put 12,000 Al Qaeda fighters at the disposal of the Islamic state of Iraq," Muhajer said, pledging allegiance to the emir of the "state" proclaimed on October 15.
The authenticity of the message attributed to Muhajer could not be independently confirmed.