Jordan executes al-Qaeda prisoners after IS kills pilot

Jordan has executed two prisoners in an apparent response to the release last night of a video showing the shocking murder of  the  captured Jordanian pilot.

So called Islamic State group says it burned alive the captive Jordanian pilot, Lieutenant Muath al-Kassasebeh.

The militant group posted a video online showed Lieutenant Kassasbeh trapped in a cage and drenched in fuel. The fuel is lit and the cage is engulfed in flames.

IS supporters re-posted clips and stills from the video across social media networks. The video included an interview with Kassasbeh in which he spoke about joining the air force and taking part in bombing raids against the armed group which has taken over swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Jordanian officials have confirmed the pilot's murder, and claimed the date of the execution was January 3 - which, if confirmed, would mean that the extermists were lying when they demanded the release of a convicted al-Qaida operative in exchange for the pilot's life.

"We mourn his loss and will avenge his blood," said army spokesman Brigadier Mahmoud al-Ameri.

We mourn his loss and will avenge his blood... We will pursue his killers to the end of the earth. - Brig Mahmoud al-Ameri

"The army tried everything to save his life. He was executed on 3 January. We will pursue the killers to the end of the earth."

And overnight, Jordan executed two prisoners it had held on death row, one of which had been the subject of prisoner swap speculation before the murder of Kassasbeh.

Government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziad al-Karbouly, two Iraqis linked to al-Qaida, had had their executions brought forward. Another official said they were executed by hanging.

Meanwhile, it emerged that the United Arab Emirates had pulled out of the anti-IS air campaign after Kassasbeh's capture in December, fearing for the fate of its pilots, according to the New York Times.

The UAE wants the US to improve its search-and-rescue efforts, including the use of V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, in northern Iraq, closer to the battleground.

Jordan's King Abdullah II was in Washington, but cut short his trip to return to Amman.

"This tragedy will only make us stronger and more determined", he said in a televised statement on Tuesday night.

He urged his countrymen to "stand united and show the real metal of Jordanians", and denounced IS as a "gang" that had no "association with Islam whatsoever".

General Lloyd Austin, head of US Central Command issued a statement saying the US "will fight this barbaric enemy until it is defeated".

Kassasbeh has been at the centre of a diplomatic storm since his capture. Last week, Islamic State group leaders threatened to kill the pilot unless Jordan released key figures from jail.

"For those who doubted the savagery of this group, here is the evidence," said Momani.

"Those who cast doubt on Jordanian national unity are disappointed. Those who cast doubt that our response will be decisive will be disappointed," he said.

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The 26-year-old was captured after his F-16 jet fighter crashed in December near the group's de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria. He was the first foreign military pilot to be captured since the US-led coalition began airstrikes and bombing sorties across IS territory in August.

Fall out

The Islamic State group had demanded the release of Rishawi, a high-profile IS sympathiser on death row for her part in bombings in Amman in 2005.

Last Thursday, Jordanian officials denied that Rishawi had been moved in preparation for a transfer.

For those who doubted the savagery of this group, here is the evidence. - Mohammad al-Momani, interior minister

King Abdullah has been under great popular and political pressure to bring the pilot home safely.

Kassasbeh's fate has become a bellwether for other discontent in the kingdom, and his hometown of Karak has become the focus of anti-war sentiment.

"Moaz is a soldier, and soldiers fall in the line of duty," a former government minister told al-Araby last week.

"This is our war and our army is defending Jordan from the expansion of criminals who are at Jordan's gate."

The pilot's family have been in talks with palace officials in recent days. Mazen Dalaeen, a member of Jordan's parliament and a relative of Kassasbeh, told al-Araby the family were now on their way back to Karak, in the country's south, to prepare for the funeral.

Thousands are likely to turn out for the funeral, and analysts are already expecting a strong security presence - in case the pilot's death acts as a further catalyst for anti-government dissent.

Late on Tuesday night, protesters in Karak set fire to a local government building, demanding the execution of Rijawi - and all other al-Qaeda-affiliated prisoners - in retaliation for the pilot's death.