Pakistani terror group becomes 'first jihadi group to defect to ISIS outside of Middle East' as leader al-Baghdadi's influence grows

Tehreek-e-Khilafat has declared it will raise the flag of the Islamic State - formerly known as ISIS - above south Asia and Khurusan, an historical Islamic region comprising parts of Afghanistan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
 
The move will be seen to bolster Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State, who has garnered the nickname ‘the invisible sheikh’ due to his elusive nature.
 
Described as the world’s most wanted man, militants operating under Baghdadi’s control have spread terror through Syria and Iraq in an attempt to form a new Islamic state in the Middle East.
 
The Sunni fighters, responsible for the brutal slaughter of thousands, have vowed to expand the so-called caliphate to huge swathes of Europe and Africa.
 
Tehreek-e-Khilafat, affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, said in a statement: 'From today, Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi shall consider Tehreek-e-Khilafat and Jihad mujahideen fighters of Pakistan as one of the arrows among his arrows which he has kept for his bow.
 
The statement, featured in the Daily Telegraph, added: 'We are praying from the almighty Allah to give us chance in our lives to see the expansion of Islamic State boundaries toward the Sub­Continent and Khurasan region in order to hoist the flag of Islamic State here.'
 
The deadliness of Pakistani terror groups was brought home in March, when gunmen stormed Pakistan's main court complex in Islamabad on Monday, cutting down fleeing lawyers before blowing themselves up in a rampage that killed 11 people.
 
It was the worst terror attack in years in the capital, which has largely been spared the violence raging in many parts of the country.
 
Saifullah Mehsud, of the Fata Research Centre which monitors activity in Pakistan's tribal areas, said more groups will now follow Tehreek-e-Khilafa and fall under the Islamic State's influence.
 
He said: 'This seems to be the in thing now. If you monitor social media, as I do, all the talk is about the Islamic State rather than al-Qaeda.'
 
ISIS, as it was known then, was disowned by al-Qaeda in February after defying demands that it stops its operation in Syria.