IS says militants from Egypt, Bangladesh support new leader

BEIRUT – A media arm of the Islamic State group is reporting that militants from Egypt’s Sinai and Bangladesh have pledged allegiance to the new leader, who succeeded Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in the first sign of support from the organization’s global affiliates.

Nasher news, which carries the group’s news releases, posted pictures Saturday of a handful of militants purportedly from Bangladesh with their faces covered standing under the group’s black flag. Their index fingers were raised to pledge allegiance to new leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi Al-Qurayshi. Other pictures showed militants purportedly from Egypt’s Sinai with their rifles and index fingers raised. The agency reports they too were pledging allegiance to the new leader.

Al-Baghdadi was killed last week in a U.S. raid in Syria. Al-Qurayshi was named his successor Thursday.