Al-Qaeda has renewed its pledge of allegiance to Mullah Omar and the Taliban, in a move that will be viewed as a snub to the Islamic State and its Caliphate.

The statement, issued in a new online magazine, is the movement’s first official response to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his blitzkrieg advance through Syria and Iraq.

It suggests al-Qaeda will not easily relinquish its place as the assumed leader of the global jihad.

“The first edition begins by renewing the pledge of allegiance to Emir of the Believers Mullah Muhammad Omar Mujahid, may Allah preserve him, and confirming that al-Qaeda and its branches everywhere are soldiers among his soldiers,” according to a translation published by the Site Intelligence Group.