Irony alert.

WAZIRISTAN Pakistan (Reuters) – The Afghan Taliban have urged Muslims to avoid extremism and remain united, a message apparently aimed at the Islamic State (ISIL), which recently declared an Islamic caliphate in territory it controls in Iraq and Syria.

The Arabic message, posted on the Afghan Taliban’s website on Thursday and translated by SITE intelligence group, addressed fighters in Iraq and Syria whose announcement of a caliphate last month poses a direct challenge to al Qaeda’s dominance of global Islamist militancy.

“It is worthy for a shurah (consultation) council to be formed from the leaders of all the jihadi factions and the distinguished people among the experts and the scholars in Sham (Syria) in order to solve their conflicts,” the message said.

“Muslims also should avoid extremism in religion, and judging others without evidence, and distrusting one another,” it said. “They should avoid conflict and dispute, and not think their opinions are better than others. Mercy and compassion should prevail.”

On June 29, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant announced that it had renamed itself Islamic State and proclaimed its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as “Caliph” – the head of the state.