Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has ordered the disbanding of the main militant faction in Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, in an audio message aired on Al-Jazeera Friday.

Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has ordered the disbanding of the main militant faction in Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, in an audio message aired on Al-Jazeera Friday.

Al-Zawahiri also stressed that the militant group of Al-Nusra Front was the branch of the al-Qaeda in Syria.

"The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is to be abolished, while the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) remains functioning," he said.

Zawahiri said the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, "has made a mistake by establishing the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant without asking for our permission, or even informing us."

It was not immediately clear when he made the remarks.

Meanwhile, Zawahiri added that the leader of the Al-Nusra Front in Syria, Abu Mohammad al-Jawlani, "has made a mistake by announcing his rejection of the ISIL, without taking our permission, or even informing us."

He said the rule of ISI will be confined to Iraq, while the Al-Nusra Front in Syria will be "an independent branch of Al-Qaeda that reports to the general command."