Boko Haram Islamist group announced Saturday in an audio statement posted on the group's Twitter account its allegiance to Islamic State (IS) jihadist group. "We announce our allegiance to the Caliph, and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity." the statement says. On Friday, the African Union (AU) announced that it agreed to establish a regional power to confront the Boko Haram Islamist group, adding that the force will include 10 thousand soldiers, after it sent 7500 solider to fight against Boko Haram in Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon in February. Boko Haram is a Nigerian, Islamist, Salafist jihadi group that focuses on the application of Islamic law in all the states of Nigeria. The group was founded in January 2002, by Mohammed Yusuf. The current leader is Abubakar Shekau. The group is known as Nigeria's Taliban and it is made up of students who have given up on study and who have set up a base in the northeast of the country, on the border with Niger. The group's violent activities include killing, burning, bombing, and kidnapping girls.