Jordan executes two jihadis in act of retaliation for pilot's gruesome murder
Islamic State militants released a video Tuesday showing the burning to death of a captured Jordanian pilot, igniting anger across the Arab region, but also raising doubts among US coalition allies.
Islamic State militants released a video Tuesday showing the burning to death of a captured Jordanian pilot, igniting anger across the Arab region, but also raising doubts among US coalition allies.
Less than 12 hours after one of its pilots was shown murdered in gruesome fashion by the self-declared Islamic State, Jordan executed a pair of Iraqi prisoners Wednesday after a declaration of "punishment and revenge" against the jihadist group.聽
The two Iraqi jihadis, Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziyad Karboli, had been named as possible pieces in a prisoner swap for Lt. Moaz al-Kassasbeh, a Jordanian whose plane crashed in northern Syria in December and was captured by IS militants. That purported deal now appears to have been a ploy: Jordan's military said Tuesday that the pilot had been killed a month ago.聽
Both prisoners had been sentenced to death in Jordan years ago, the former for an attempted suicide bombing as part of an deadly attack on Amman hotels in 2005, the latter for killing a Jordanian national and working closely with former Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
IS released a video on Tuesday showing the execution of Lieutenant Kassasbeh, burned to death in a metal cage. The grisly video drew broad outrage and demands for revenge from the public in Jordan, The Washington Post reports.
The Associated Press adds that Kassasbeh's execution was condemned across the Middle East, by political and religious leaders alike. The act of burning someone alive is聽forbidden in most strains of Islam, 海角大神 explains:
The Jordanian army vowed "punishment and revenge" against IS for Kasasbeh's death, and some analysts believe the Hashemite kingdom will step up its military cooperation with the US against the group, Reuters reports. Jordan has been part of a US-led coalition launching airstrikes against IS in Syria and Iraq, Jordan's neighbors.
But others warn that the pilot's death could sow doubt among Jordanians in the long term. "The horror of the killing, the method of killing is probably going to generate more short-term support for the state," a Western diplomat told Reuters. "But once that horror dies down, inevitably some of the questions revert on Jordan鈥檚 role in the coalition."
The New York Times notes that similar thinking led the United Arab Emirates to halt its participation in airstrikes in December, over fears for the safety of its combat pilots.
Soon after Kassasbeh was shot down, the UAE demanded that the US improve its search and rescue operations in Iraq and Syria. Though US officials reportedly said that there was not enough time to rescue the Jordanian F-16 pilot, who was 鈥済rabbed ... within just a few minutes,鈥� UAE officials expressed doubt that the US had the capacity to rescue him even if there had been time.
The UAE's misgivings are troublesome for Washington, the Times adds: