DUBAI, Oct 17: The Tawhid wal Jihad group of Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi, the most wanted man in Iraq, has pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden in a statement posted on Sunday on websites usually used by terrorist organizations.

"We announce that Al Tawhid wal Jihad, its emir (Zarqawi) and soldiers have pledged allegiance to (leader of) mujahideen Osama bin Laden," said the statement.

It was the first such public pledge by the group led by Zarqawi, whom the United States has branded Al Qaeda's chief operative in Iraq. However, the authenticity of the statement could not be verified.-AFP