Dar al-Ifta Spokesman Ibrahim Negm announced the fatwa on Friday, saying the ISIL’s terrorist activities in Syria and Iraq “serve the enemies of Islam.”

The Sunni cleric also condemned the extremist group for committing crimes in Muslim nations in the name of religion. Negm said the ISIL has adopted the wrong interpretation of Islam.

Dar al-Ifta is Egypt’s official Islamic body that issues religious edicts.

ISIL, an al-Qaeda offshoot group, has been wreaking havoc in Syria, recently captured a number of cities in northern and north-central Iraq.

On Friday, top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a religious decree calling on people to take up arms and defend their country against the Takfiri militants.

Iraqi men from all walks of life are flocking to recruitment centers to join the army in its fight against the ISIL extremists.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also said authorities will arm citizens in Ninawa and Salah al-Din provinces to fight the militants. Maliki has blamed Saudi Arabia and Qatar for the security crisis and growing terrorism in his country, denouncing Riyadh as a major supporter of global terrorism.

Over the past days, Iraqi armed forces have been engaged in fierce clashes with the terrorists, who have threatened to take their acts of violence to other Iraqi cities, including the capital, Baghdad.
According to report, the Iraqi elite counter-terrorism forces are on their way to Mosul to restore security alongside the road connecting Ninawa – Salah al-Din provinces.

According to security sources, the control of Salah al-Din province has been regained totally by Iraqi security troops.

NTJ/MB