They have reportedly removed 'Iraq and the Levant' from their name and urged other radical groups active in Iraq and Syria to pledge their allegiance.

The Takfiri terror group announced in an audio recording released online on Sunday that it should now be called 'The Islamic State' and declared its chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as "the caliph" of the new state and "leader for Muslims everywhere."

The decision was made following the group’s Shura Council meeting on Sunday, according to ISIL spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani.

The so-called Islamic State has marked its borders, spanning the territory occupied by the group in a bloody rampage, from Iraq's volatile Diyala province to Syria's war-torn Aleppo.

The extremist group has also claimed that they are now a "legitimate state."

The so-called Islamic State has called on Al-Qaeda and other radical terrorists in the region to immediately pledge their allegiance, ushering in “a new era of international jihad.”

"The Shura [Council] of the Islamic State met and discussed this issue…The Islamic State decided to establish an Islamic caliphate and to designate a caliph for the state of the Muslims," said ISIL's spokesman Adnani.

He claimed the establishment of the caliphate as "the hope of all extremists.”

The terrorist group, notorious for its brutal violence, separated from Al-Qaeda in early 2014. It has seized some parts of western and northern Iraq in recent weeks, committing mass murders against both Shia and Sunni Muslims in the region.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said that the country’s security forces would confront the terrorists.

NTJ/MB