ISIS edict on female genital mutilation likely false

BAGHDAD, July 24 (UPI) -- An edict attributed to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria mandating female genital mutilation in the northern Iraq city of Mosul is now believed to be a fake.

The decree, which called for girls and women between the ages of 11 and 46 to undergo FGM, was issued via social media using a moniker no longer used by the militant group: the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) instead of ISIS.

There is increasing speculation that the edict may have been posted to discredit ISIS.

Jacqueline Badcock, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq and U.N. Development Program Resident Representative, expressed outrage over the alleged edict. The practice of FGM would be "something very new for Iraq" she said, "and does need to be addressed."

The U.N. has advocated for greater awareness in combating the practice of female genital mutilation, which is defined by the U.N. and World Health Organization as "the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons."