The Al-Qaeda-linked group of notorious one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, according to an audio recording broadcasted by private Mauritanian agency Al-Akhbar.

"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 Adnan Abou Walid Sahraoui, a leading member of the group, in the recording. Al-Akhbar said it had identified the voice in the recording as that of Saharaoui. AFP was unable to obtain immediate confirmation from other sources.