Al-Qaeda-linked militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar — most well known for his organized raid in Algeria's Amenas gas — released an audio recording pledging his allegiance to Daesh (ISIS), Mauritanian agency al-Akhbar reported Thursday.
Belmokhtar, the one-eyed militant whose attack in January 2013 killed 37 oil contractors, spoke in the recording of his group's support. Belmokhtar is a leader of extremist movement al-Muratoun, based in Algeria and affiliated with al-Qaeda.
"The al-Murabitoun movement pledges its allegiance to the caliph of Muslims Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, thereby banishing divisions and dissent within the nation," said al-Murabitoun senior leader Adnan Abou Walid Sahraoui, according to al-Akhbar.
In 2012 Belmokhtar formed his own militia, which joined ranks with al-Qaeda branch Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao) to form al-Murabitoun.
Belmokhtar has also been linked to attacks in Niger that killled at least 25 people, International Busines Times reported.
