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Leader of Egypt religious institution enraged by IS killing

Supporters and family members of Jordanian pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh express their anger of his reported killing, at the tribal gathering chamber, Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, 3, 2015. A video released online Tuesday purportedly showed al-Kaseasbeh who was captured by the Islamic State extremist group in Syria being burned to death by his captors following a weeklong drama over a possible prisoner exchange. At the tribal meeting place where the pilot's relatives have waited for weeks for word on his fate, chants against Jordan's King Abdullah II erupted and some family members wept. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) Supporters and family members of Jordanian pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh express their anger of his reported killing, at the tribal gathering chamber, Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, 3, 2015. A video released online Tuesday purportedly showed al-Kaseasbeh who was captured by the Islamic State extremist group in Syria being burned to death by his captors following a weeklong drama over a possible prisoner exchange. At the tribal meeting place where the pilot's relatives have waited for weeks for word on his fate, chants against Jordan's King Abdullah II erupted and some family members wept. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)

By Associated Press February 4, 2015 1 min read

CAIRO (AP) – The head of Sunni Islam’s most respected seat of learning has expressed his outrage over the purported burning to death by the Islamic State group of a captured Jordanian pilot, calling for the killing, crucifixion or chopping off the limbs of the militants.

Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Grand Sheik of Cairo’s Al-Azhar Mosque, said the Islamic State group militants deserved such Quran-prescribed punishment because they were in effect fighting God and his Prophet Muhammad.

A statement from al-Tayeb released late Tuesday said that by burning Lt. Muath Al-Kaseasbeh to death, militants violated Islam’s prohibition on the mutilation of bodies, even at wartime.

Al-Kaseasbeh was captured in December when his F-16 crashed while he was flying a mission as part of the U.S.-led air campaign against the Islamic State group.