World Bulletin / News Desk

The head of Egypt's Al-Azhar University, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb, on Monday said that so-called 'Islamic State' (IS) militants are "criminals" who serve a "Zionist" plot to "destroy the Arab world."

Complaining that the IS has "tarnished" the image of Muslims to the world, al-Tayyeb was quoted by Agence France Presse (AFP) saying "These fundamentalist terrorist groups, whatever their names, and their backers are colonial creations that serve Zionism in its plot to destroy the Arab world."

The Al-Azhar imam reiterated the words of Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawqi Allam and Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh who called the IS militants aggressors who abuse people’s lives, possessions and honor.

Fighters from the IS, who already control of parts of Syria, captured the northern Iraq city of Mosul in June and then surged across the north of Iraq, taking control of a number of predominantly Sunni cities.