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Jihadis ordered women in Iraqi city to undergo genital mutilation

An extreme militant group ordered all girls and women to undergo genital mutilation in the Iraqi city of Mosul, the United Nations said Thursday.

The demand by the Islamic State could affect 4 million females within the region, according to UN official Jacqueline Badcock.

Desperate Iraqi women from Mosul at the Khazair displacement camp wait for food dispensed by the Iraqi Red Crescent society.Getty Images

“This is something very new for Iraq, particularly in this area, and is of grave concern and does need to be addressed,” Badcock told reporters from Erbil, Iraq, via a video link. “This is not the will of Iraqi people, or the women of Iraq in these vulnerable areas covered by the terrorists.”

The “fatwa” said all women age 11 to 46 should have the non-medical ritual done, as it is believed to help prepare them for adulthood, according to the BBC. But often, the dangerous procedure leaves women susceptible to severe bleeding, infections, infertility and even death.

Islamic State militants took control of Mosul, one of Iraq’s largest cities, in June. The extremist group announced that it plans to create a caliphate, an Islamic state led by religious leaders, from Iraq to Syria.

The UN passed a resolution in December 2012 that banned the practice for all member states.