Al Qaeda splinter group declares Islamic `Caliphate`

Beirut: An offshoot of al Qaeda which has captured swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria has declared itself an Islamic "Caliphate" and called on jihadi factions worldwide to pledge allegiance to it, the SITE monitoring service said on Sunday.
The group, previously known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has renamed itself "Islamic State" and declared its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghadi as "Caliph" - the head of the state, SITE said.
Fighters from the group overran the Iraqi city of Mosul last month and have advanced towards Baghdad. In Syria they have captured territory in the north and east, along the frontier with Iraq.