Video raises concerns of Taliban’s joining IS

Associated Press

ISLAMABAD

An online video released Saturday purports to show former militants of the Pakistani Taliban pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group and beheading a man they identify as a Pakistani soldier.

The video shows former Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid along with dozens of other militants in a wooded area. Shahid already announced his support for the Islamic State group in an audio message in October. He later was replaced by the Pakistani Taliban.

Other militant leaders who identify themselves as from Afghanistan and Pakistan also pledge their support to the Islamic State group. At the end of the video, the militants behead a man they identified as a Pakistani soldier.

The SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based terrorism monitor, said the video was released by the Islamic State group on Twitter and jihadi forums.

The video is sure to raise concerns about whether the Islamic State group has found support in Pakistan and Afghanistan, a region already awash with dozens of militant groups.