Islamic State group militants burned a captured
Jordanian pilot to death in a cage, according to
a purported video of the violence released
Tuesday. The kingdom, which had vowed a swift
and lethal response, executed two al-Qaida
prisoners by hanging early Wednesday.
The pilot’s gruesome death sparked outrage and
anti-Islamic State group demonstrations in
Jordan. The video emerged after a weeklong
drama over a possible prisoner exchange for a
female al-Qaida operative imprisoned in Jordan
who was one of the two prisoners executed.
The Jordanian military confirmed the death of
26-year-old Lt. Muath Al-Kaseasbeh, who was
captured by the extremists 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.
He was the first airman participating in the U.S.-
led bombing raids against militant positions in
Syria and Iraq to be captured.
In Washington, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and
President Barack Obama vowed in a hastily
arranged White House meeting not to let up in
the fight against the Islamic State group. Jordan,
a staunch Western ally, is a member of the
coalition.
In a first response to the killing of the pilot,
Jordan executed Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziad al-
Karbouly, two Iraqis linked to al-Qaida,
government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani
said. Another official said they were executed by
hanging.
The executions took place at Swaqa prison
about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of the
Jordanian capital of Amman. At sunrise, two
ambulances carrying the bodies of al-Rishawi
and al-Karbouly drove away from the prison with
security escorts.
Over the past week, Jordan had offered to trade
al-Rishawi, a failed suicide bomber, for the pilot,
but froze any swap after failing to receive any
proof that the pilot was still alive.
Jordanian TV
said the pilot was killed as long ago as Jan. 3.
No comments: