"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.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2006