Jordan vows 'revenge' for ISIS execution of pilot hostage
Jordan will execute failed suicide bomber Sajida Al-Rishawi "within hours", as revenge for the ISIS killing of hostage pilot Moath al-Kasasbeh, a security official told AFP. Earlier, Jordan offered to swap the two prisoners.
UPDATE: Jordan executes 2 prisoners after Islamic State burns pilot to death
"The revenge will be as big as the calamity that has hit Jordan," army spokesman Colonel Mamdouh al Ameri said in a televised statement as cited by Reuters, after a video surface of the pilot being burned alive. A government spokesman promised a "strong, earth-shaking and decisive" response to the execution.
READ MORE: ISIS burns alive Jordanian pilot it kept hostage – reports
King Abdullah II has cut short his visit to the US, while the country has declared three days of mourning for the "martyr and hero" al-Kasasbeh, who was taken hostage after his plane came down during a bombing raid on IS positions on December 24.
In a statement, the monarch, who has ruled Jordan since 1999, called the immolation an act of "cowardly terror" and said that ISIS "had nothing in common with true Islam."
RIGHT NOW: 100s Gathering in Amman in memory of Moaz Al Kasasbeh and to request execution of female would be bomber. pic.twitter.com/JEbShpTZgq
— Breaking News (@NewsOnTheMin) February 3, 2015
Funeral prayers will be held in all mosques in the Middle Eastern state, and there have been reports of rambunctious demonstrations in Karak, the hometown of the slain pilot.
Scenes in Jordanian village of Karak, where family members of Kasaesbeh have gathered. Video: https://t.co/7EQkOsQxGtpic.twitter.com/6KAFhpokID
— FB Newswire (@fbnewswire) February 3, 2015
Local media has reported that five jihadists, who are on death row, are being transferred to a prison south of the capital Amman, where executions take place. Earlier, Jordan threatened to execute Islamic State associates if al-Kasasbeh was not handed back alive.
#Jordan will execute Sajida Al Rishawi on Wednesday at dawn, possibly along with other Islamists inmates. pic.twitter.com/fyF0BjnSUa
— Andrea Lazzaroni (@andrealazzaroni) February 3, 2015
Al-Rishawi, who is considered a martyr by ISIS, unsuccessfully attempted to detonate herself during the al-Qaeda attacks on Jordan a decade ago that killed 60 people, and has been awaiting her death sentence since the subsequent trial.
Despite protracted negotiations to release al-Kasasbeh, and two Japanese journalists – who have also been executed – Jordan now believes that the F-16 pilot was killed exactly one month ago, on January 3.
Ally United States, which promised "ironclad support" after setting up an emergency meeting between King Abdullah and Vice-President Joe Biden, says experts are now studying the professionally-produced video, to ascertain whether it is authentic, and if so, when it was recorded.
.@statedeptspox Psaki comments on murder of Jordanian pilot Lt. Moaz al-Kasasbeh http://t.co/s8TbKmSITg
— Department of State (@StateDept) February 3, 2015
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama has condemned the Islamic State, saying that that the public execution was evidence of “barbarism and viciousness,” and vowing to "banish their hateful ideology to the recesses of history."
"Whatever ideology they [IS] is operating off of, it's bankrupt," the US leader told the media, promising to dedicate “all resources” to locating remaining hostages, held by the radical Islamists, who control large swaths of Syria and Iraq.
President Obama on the death of First Lieutenant Moaz al-Kasasbeh. pic.twitter.com/7dn0G3szly
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 3, 2015
The White House announced that it would raise its budget for aid to Jordan from $660 to $1 billion, to house refugees from nearby conflicts, and to fight off the Islamic State.
