31 terrorist groups now pledge support or allegiance to Islamic state terrorist.

31 terrorist groups now pledge support or allegiance to Islamic state terrorist. (IBTimes).

According to data gathered by the Intel Center, a private company that studies terrorist groups, 31 groups have now sworn either support or allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Boko Haram has been responsible for tens of thousands of deaths and displacement of an estimated 1 million people in the past year and now controls an area about 52,000 square kilometers, roughly the size of Slovakia, according to an estimate released by The Telegraph.

The pledge follows similar messages of solidarity from Islamist militant groups in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen and Saudi Arabia in November, and militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan announced that they were forming an ISIS “province” in January. Read the full story here.