Jordan awaits proof captured pilot is still alive

Jordan's military has said it is still awaiting proof that a pilot threatened with execution by the Islamic State group is safe.

The IS group had vowed to Maaz al-Kassasbeh by sunset on Thursday unless Amman handed over jailed Iraqi woman Sajida al-Rishawi.

"Jordan has so far received no information that proves the pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh is safe and sound," military spokesman Mamdoh al-Ameri told AFP on Friday.

Amman has offered to free Rishawi, who was convicted for her part in hotel bombings in the Jordanian capital in 2005 that killed 60 people, if the IS group releases the pilot.

The IS said on Tuesday that it would free a Japanese hostage, Kenji Goto, and spare Kassasbeh's life in return for Rijawi. It did not offer to free the pilot.

Jordan replied by demanding the release of Kassasbeh, and did not mention the Japanese hostage.

"Jordan has so far received no information that proves the pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh is safe. - Jordan government.

The IS said then threatened to kill Kassasbeh on Wednesday unless its demands were met, but then extended the deadline to late on Thursday. Jordan responded by saying it wanted proof the airman was still alive.

Jordan denied reports on Thursday that Rishawi had been moved in preparation for the transfer. "Rishawi is still in Jordan and the exchange will happen once we receive the proof of life that we asked for," said government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said.

Jordan's parliament meanwhile appeared to prepare for the worst, saying in a statement on Thursday that it sensed "bad intent on the part of the IS group". The former Jordanian prime minister, Raouf Rawabdeh, told al-Araby al-Jadeed that "the Jordanian people should remember that all members of the Jordanian army are potential future martyrs".

Jordan's King Abdullah faces growing domestic pressure to bring the pilot home. Many in Jordan are opposed to the country's involvement in the US-led war against IS.

The pilot's father said he met the king on Wednesday, who he said assured him that "everything will be fine". He had previously told al-Araby that he had heard nothing from the government about its efforts to free his son.

Kaseasbeh, 26, was seized after his F-16 crashed in December near the Islamic State group's de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria. He was the first foreign military pilot the captured since the coalition began its airstrikes in August.

Rishawi was jailed in Jordan and faced a death sentence for involvement in the bombing of hotels in Amman in 2006, which killed more than 60 people. She was arrested after her explosive belt failed to detonate.