Al-Qaeda leader purportedly pledges allegiance to Taliban

Katharine Lackey | USA TODAY

Al-Qaeda's leader purportedly pledged allegiance to the new leader of the Taliban in an audio message posted online Thursday, according to multiple media outlets.

In the recording, a man claiming to be al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri announces the terrorist group's loyalty to the Afghanistan-based militants.

"We pledge our allegiance ... (to the) commander of the faithful, Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansoor, may God protect him," the audio message says, according to Reuters.

The message comes two weeks after Afghanistan's main intelligence agency said Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar died more than two years ago of an unspecific illness. Within days, the Taliban had confirmed Omar's demise and named a new leader, Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansoor.

The authenticity of the recording could not be independently verified by USA TODAY. Reuters reported it had all the stamps of a legitimate al-Qaeda video. If verified, it would be al-Zawahiri's first message since September, the BBC reported.

"As leader of the al-Qaeda organization for jihad, I offer our pledge of allegiance, renewing the path of Sheikh Osama (bin Laden) and the devoted martyrs in their pledge to the commander of the faithful, the holy warrior Mullah Omar," the message said, according to Reuters.

A oath of loyalty isn't surprising given that the Taliban harbored former al-Qaeda leader bin Laden until U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan a month after the 9/11 attacks. The move also comes as al-Qaeda is increasingly challenged by the Islamic State, from which the terror group broke off.

Mansoor's rise has not gone over well with many senior Taliban officials, Reuters and BBC reported. That means al-Qaeda's endorsement of the new Taliban chief could shore up Mansoor's new role. Shortly after his appointment, Mansoor vowed to continue the group's violent, nearly 14-year insurgency.

Al-Zawahiri was bin Laden's top adviser and took over leadership of the group after bin Laden's death in 2011. The U.S. has a $25 million bounty on al-Zawahiri's head and has indicted him in connection with the Aug. 7, 1998, bombings of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that killed 224 people.