Nigeria's Boko Haram pledges allegiance to Islamic State

Nigerian militant group Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS), according to an audio statement.

The message, which was not verified, was posted on Boko Haram's Twitter account and appeared to be by the group's leader, Abubakar Shekau.

Boko Haram began a military campaign to impose Islamic rule in northern Nigeria in 2009. The conflict has since spread to neighbouring states.

It would be the latest in a series of groups to swear allegiance to IS.

In the past Boko Haram is thought to have had links with al-Qaeda.

IS took control of large swathes of territory in eastern Syria and across northern and western Iraq last year.

The group aims to establish a "caliphate", a state ruled by a single political and religious leader according to Islamic law, or Sharia. Its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is known to his followers as Caliph Ibrahim.

In the audio message posted on Saturday, the Boko Haram leader purportedly said: "We announce our allegiance to the Caliph... and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity."

Market carnage

Boko Haram's insurgency has threatened Nigeria's territorial integrity and triggered a humanitarian crisis.

It has carried out frequent bombings that have left thousands dead and has also attacked targets in the capital, Abuja.

On Saturday, at least five blasts including several suicide bombings in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri left at least 50 people dead.

The targets included two busy markets and a bus terminal in the city. Eyewitnesses have said at least two of the suicide bombers were women.

Boko Haram has not yet commented on the attack, but it has used suicide bombers in the past and Maiduguri is its former stronghold.

IS has forged links with other militant groups across North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

In November Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi accepted pledges of allegiance from jihadists in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

In January, militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan announced that they were forming an IS "province".

IS is distinguished by the brutality of its tactics, which include mass killings and abductions of members of religious and ethnic minorities, as well as the beheadings of soldiers and journalists.

Since last year, a US-led alliance has tried to counter the group with air strikes in Iraq and Syria.