Exclusive: Islamic State sanctioned organ harvesting in document taken in U.S. raid

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By Warren Strobel, Jonathan Landay and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Islamic State has sanctioned the harvesting of human organs in a previously undisclosed ruling by the group’s Islamic scholars, raising concerns that the violent extremist group may be trafficking in body parts. *** The ruling, contained in a January 31, 2015 document reviewed by Reuters, says taking organs from a living captive to save a Muslim's life, even if it is fatal for the captive, is permissible. For a U.S. government translation of the document, click here http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/doc/document.pdf Reuters couldn’t independently confirm the authenticity of the document. U.S. officials say it was among a trove of data and other information obtained by U.S. special forces in a raid in eastern Syria in*May. "The apostate's life and organs don't have to be respected and may be taken with impunity," says the document, which is in the form of a fatwa, or religious ruling, from the Islamic State’s Research and Fatwa Committee. ** *** "Organs that end the captive's life if removed: The removal of that type is also not prohibited," Fatwa Number 68 says, according to a U.S. government translation. **** The document does not offer any proof*that Islamic State actually engages in organ harvesting or organ trafficking.

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