DHAKA: Islamist militant group Isis has said it is establishing a caliphate, or Islamic state, on the territories it controls in Iraq and Syria. 

It also proclaimed the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as caliph and leader for Muslims everywhere. 

Setting up a caliphate ruled by the strict Islamic law has long been a goal of many jihadists, reports BBC.                      

Meanwhile, Iraq's army continued an offensive to retake the northern city of Tikrit from the Isis-led rebels.

The city was seized by the insurgents on 11 June as they swept across large parts of northern-western Iraq.

In a separate development, Israel called for the creation of an independent Kurdish state in response to the gain made by the Sunni rebels in Iraq.

BDST: 1016 HRS, JUN 30, 2014