BEIRUT (AP) — Al-Qaida’s branch in Iraq said it has merged with Syria’s extremist Jabhat al-Nusra, a move that shows the rising confidence of radicals within Syria’s rebel movement and is likely to trigger renewed fears among its international backers.

A website linked to Jabhat Al-Nusra confirmed on Tuesday the merger with the Islamic State of Iraq, whose leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi first made the announcement in a 21-minute audio posted on militant websites late Monday.

Jabhat Al-Nusra has taken an ever-bigger role in Syria’s conflict over the last year, claiming to have taken the lead role in key battles and staged several large suicide bombings.

The Syrian group has made little secret of its ideological ties to the global jihadist movement and its links across the Iraqi border but until now has not officially declared itself to be part of al-Qaida.

Al-Baghdadi said that his group — the Islamic State of Iraq — and Syria’s Jabhat al-Nusra will now be known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Sham. Sham is a name for Syria and the surrounding region.

"It is time to announce to the Levantine (Syrian) people and the whole world that Jabhat al-Nusra is merely an extension and part of the Islamic State of Iraq," he said.

He said that the Iraqi group was providing half of its budget to the conflict in Syria. Al-Baghdadi said that the Syrian group would have no separate leader but instead be led by the "people of Syria themselves" — implying that he would be in charge in both countries.

For such a high-profile Syrian rebel group to formally join al-Qaida is likely to spark concerns among backers of the opposition that are in the global terror network’s crosshairs, including both Western countries and Gulf Arab states.

It may increase resentment of Jabhat al-Nusra among other rebel groups. Rebels have until now respected Nusra fighters for their prowess on the battlefield but a merger with al-Qaida will complicate any effort to send them arms from abroad.

A website linked with Jabhat al-Nusra known as al-Muhajir al-Islami — the Islamic emigrant — confirmed the merger.

The authenticity of neither message could be independently confirmed, but statements posted on major militant websites are rarely disputed by militant groups afterward.

Jabhat al-Nusra emerged as an offshoot of Iraq’s al-Qaida branch in mid-2012 as one of a patchwork of disparate rebel groups in Syria. Its presence on the battlefield complicates desperately needed international support for Syrian rebels because foreign backers do not want to bolster Islamic extremist groups.

One of the most dramatic attacks by the groups came on March 4, when 48 Syrian soldiers were killed in a well-coordinated ambush after seeking refuge across the border in Iraq following clashes with rebels in their home country. The attack occurred in Iraq’s restive western province of Anbar, where al-Qaida is known to be active.

A top Iraqi intelligence official told The Associated Press in Baghdad that they have always known that "al-Qaida in Iraq is directing Jabhat al-Nusra."

He said they announced their unity because of "political, logistical and geographical circumstance." The official said Iraqi authorities will take "strict security measures to strike them."

Iraqi officials say the jihadi groups are sharing three military training compounds, logistics, intelligence and weapons as they grow in strength around the Syria-Iraq border, particularly in a sprawling region called al-Jazeera, which they are trying to turn into a border sanctuary they can both exploit. It could serve as a base of operations to strike either side of the border.

Baghdad officials said last week they have requested U.S. drone strikes against the fighters in Iraqi territory. A U.S. official confirmed that elements within the Iraqi government had inquired about drone strikes. But the official said the U.S. was waiting to respond until the top level of Iraqi leadership makes a formal request, which has not happened yet.

All officials spoke anonymously as they were not authorized to give official statements to the media

Eastern Syria and western Iraq have a predominantly Sunni Muslim population like most of the rebels fighting President Bashar Assad, who belongs to the minority Alawite Sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. The Baghdad government is dominated by Shiites, who are majority in Iraq.

The announcement came hours after a suicide car bomber struck Monday in the financial heart of Syria’s capital, killing at least 15 people, damaging the nearby central bank.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack but such operations were claimed by Jabhat al-Nusra in the past.

Activists reported violence in different parts of Syria on Tuesday.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported air raids on suburbs of the capital Damascus as well as the northern province of Raqqa and Idlib.

Syria’s crisis, which began in March 2011 with protests calling for Assad’s ouster, then evolved into a civil war. The U.N. says more than 70,000 have been killed in the conflict.

—————

Youssef reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this report from Baghdad.