Jordan warplanes strike Islamic State after pilot murder
Baku, February 6, AZERTAC
Jordan said on Thursday its warplanes had launched new strikes against the Islamic State group, after vowing a harsh response to the burning alive of one of its fighter pilots captured in Syria.
The announcement came as King Abdullah II personally paid his condolences to the airman’s family, which has urged the government to “destroy” the jihadists, reflecting deep anger among Jordanians over the brutal murder.
“The Jordanian air force launched raids against positions of the Islamic State group,” said a government official, who did not want to be named.
He did not disclose where or when the strikes took place, saying the military would release a statement later. Jordan has conducted regular raids against IS in Syria as part of a US-led campaign against the Sunni extremist group, which has seized swathes of the war-torn country and of neighbouring Iraq.
The gruesome murder of airman Maaz al-Kassasbeh, who was captured by IS in December when his F-16 fighter plane went down in Syria, has increased support in Jordan for stepped-up military action against the jihadists.
“Jordan will wage all-out war to protect our principles and values,” the Al-Rai government newspaper wrote in an editorial. “We are on the lookout for this band of criminals.”
Abdullah cut short a visit to the United States and flew back to Amman yesterday after the harrowing video emerged of Kassasbeh’s killing.
The airman’s killing sparked outrage in Jordan and demonstrations in Amman and Karak, also the bastion of Kassasbeh’s influential tribe.
Special correspondent of AZERTAC
Asya Hajizade
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