Pakistani Taliban Pledges Support to Islamic State

The Pakistani Taliban has announced its support for the Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.

In a statement issued Saturday to mark the Muslim festival of Eid, Pakistani Taliban said that it fully supported the Islamic State goals and said that Muslims all over the world have great expectations from the organization.

"Oh our brothers, we are proud of you in your victories. We are with you in your happiness and your sorrow," Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said.

"In these troubled days, we call for your patience and stability, especially now that all your enemies are united against you. Please put all your rivalries behind you...

"All Muslims in the world have great expectations of you ... We are with you, we will provide you with Mujahideen (fighters) and with every possible support," he said, reports Reuters.

The Taliban spokesman also said that his organization supported the Mujahideen's of Iraq and Syria even before the Islamic State was formed. He said that the Pakistani Taliban had send 1,000 to 1,500 fighters to the region till date, reports AFP.

Although the spokesman did not mention a formal agreement between the two groups, supporters of Islamic State were seen recently in the northwestern city of Peshawar, distributing pamphlets praising the group.

Asad Munir, a former Brigadier general of Pakistan said that the Taliban considers the land seized by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria as  a base for holy war. It also thinks that this was the time to join the Islamic State to capture the world and establish a caliphate, he said, reports Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, Islamic Sate militants Sunday publicly shot dead six Iraqi soldiers captured from the town of Hit around 140 kilometers from the Iraqi capital Baghdad, reports the Associated Press.

Residents of the town said that the Iraqi soldiers were aligned against a wall and shot in the head. A police station in the town was also bombed by the militants, they said.