Jordanian pilot burned alive by IS

[webfact]

Militants' video shows Jordanian pilot burned alive
By OMAR AKOUR and KARIN LAUB

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Islamic State militants put to death a captured Jordanian fighter pilot by burning him alive in a cage, according to a video the group released Tuesday. The kingdom vowed a swift and lethal response to what it called a "barbaric" act.

The military confirmed the death of Lt. Muath Al-Kaseasbeh, who was captured by the extremists in December when his F-16 crashed while he was flying a mission as part of the U.S.-led air campaign against the Islamic State.

Jordanian TV said the pilot was killed as long ago as Jan. 3. In the past week, the militants had not responded to demands by Jordanian authorities to deliver proof the airman was alive so a prisoner swap could be made.

The killing of the 26-year-old pilot appeared aimed at pressuring the government of Jordan — a close U.S. ally — to leave the coalition that has carried out months of airstrikes targeting Islamic State positions in Syria and Iraq. But the extremists' brutality against a fellow Muslim could backfire and galvanize other Sunni Muslims in the region against them.

King Abdullah II, who has portrayed the campaign against the extremists as a battle over values, was in Washington on a previously scheduled trip. He added a stop at the White House with President Barack Obama. The monarch broadcast a speech on Jordanian TV on Tuesday evening, confirming the pilot's death "with sorrow and anger," and urging his countrymen to unite.

"It's the duty of all of us to stand united and show the real values of Jordanians in the face of these hardships," Abdullah said. The official Petra news agency said he would be cutting short his Washington trip.

Obama said the Islamic State group's video, if authentic, showed "the viciousness and barbarity of this organization."

"And it, I think, will redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of a global coalition to make sure that they are degraded and ultimately defeated," he told reporters during an event at the White House.

Obama later issued a statement offering condolences, saying the pilot's "dedication, courage, and service to his country and family represent universal human values that stand in opposition to the cowardice and depravity of ISIL, which has been so broadly rejected around the globe." The Islamic State group is known variously by the acronyms ISIL, ISIS and, in Arabic, Daesh.

Dozens of people chanting slogans against the Islamic State marched toward the royal palace to express their anger. Waving a Jordanian flag, they chanted, "Damn you, Daesh!" and "We will avenge, we will avenge our son's blood."

Jordanian officials said the country would response swiftly and decisively.

"Our punishment and revenge will be as huge as the loss of the Jordanians," said the spokesman of the armed forces, Mamdouh al-Ameri.

One option is to move forward with the execution of Sajida al-Rishawi, an al-Qaida prisoner whom Jordan had offered to trade for the pilot.

Al-Rishawi, 44, faces death by hanging for her role in the bombings of three Amman hotels in 2005. Al-Rishawi's suicide belt did not detonate at the time and she fled the scene, but was quickly arrested. After a televised confession, she recanted, but her appeal was turned down.

Al-Rishawi, an Iraqi national, has close family ties to the Iraqi branch of al-Qaida, a precursor of the Islamic State group.

The 20-minute video purportedly showing the pilot's killing was released on militant websites and bore the logo of the extremist group's al-Furqan media service. The clip featured the slick production and graphics used in previous Islamic State videos.

The pilot showed signs of having been beaten, including a black eye. Toward the end of the video, he was shown wearing an orange jumpsuit. He stood in an outdoor cage as a masked militant ignited a line of fuel leading to it.

The video, which could not immediately be confirmed independently by The Associated Press, threatened other purported Jordanian pilots by name.

It emerged three days after Japanese journalist Kenji Goto was purportedly beheaded by the militants. The fate of the journalist and the pilot had been linked by their captors.

Al-Kaseasbeh is from a tribal area in southern Jordan's Karak district. The tribes are considered a mainstay of support for the monarchy, but the pilot's capture has strained that relationship. Members of the pilot's family have repeatedly accused the government of botching efforts to win his release and have also criticized Jordan's participation in the anti-IS alliance.

The pilot's father, Safi Yousef al-Kaseasbeh, was attending a tribal meeting in Amman when news of the video surfaced, and he was seen being led from the session. Other men were seen outside, overcome with emotion.

Late Tuesday, as word spread of his death, protesters marched in his home village of Ai and set a local government office on fire. Witnesses said the atmosphere was tense and that riot police were patrolling the streets.

In Amman, family members gathering at a tribal meeting place wept when receiving word of his death. Outside, hundreds of protesters took to the streets, chanting: "There is no god but God and the martyr is beloved by God."

Al-Kaseasbeh had fallen into the hands of the militants in December when his F-16 crashed near Raqqa, Syria, the de facto capital of the group's self-styled caliphate. He is the only coalition pilot to be captured to date.

The Islamic State group, which controls around a third of Syria and neighboring Iraq, has released a series of gruesome videos showing the killing of captives, including two American journalists, an American aid worker and two British aid workers. Tuesday's was the first to show a captive being burned alive.

Members of the U.N. Security Council condemned the killing of the pilot. Sauomg ot demonstrated "the brutality of ISIL, which is responsible for thousands of crimes and abuses against people from all faiths, ethnicities and nationalities, and without regard to any basic value of humanity."

David L. Phillips, a former State Department adviser on the Middle East, said he believes the pilot's killing could backfire, antagonizing Sunnis against the extremists, including Sunni tribes in Iraq.

"They need to have a welcome from Sunni Arabs in Anbar Province (in Iraq) to maintain their operations," said Phillips, director of the Program on Peace-building and Human Rights at Columbia University.

He said the extremist group's recent military setbacks may have fueled the killings. "They need to compensate for that with increasingly gruesome killings of prisoners," he said.

Jordan has made clear that the hostage crisis will not prompt it to leave the coalition.

"We now all know in Jordan, beyond any doubt, how barbaric ISIS is," said Mohammed al-Momani, a government spokesman. "Whoever doubted the unity of Jordan will now be proved wrong. Whoever doubts Jordan's stern and lethal response will be proved wrong."

Experts are divided over whether Jordan faces a greater threat from extremists outside its borders or from those within. In recent months, there have been signs of greater support for the Islamic State group's ideas among Jordan's young and poor. Last year, the government intensified a crackdown on IS sympathizers and the al-Qaida branch in Syria.
___

Laub reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank, Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Joseph Krauss in Cairo, Cara Anna at the United Nations, and Donna Cassata in Washington contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-02-04

[MJP]

Ironically, I think ISIS will herald the end of Islamic extremism.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31123786

"Today we stand shoulder to shoulder with the family of the martyr hero Moaz, with our people and our armed forces in this tragedy," he added. "At these difficult times it is every Jordanian's duty to stand together in the face of crises and ordeals, which will only make us stronger." - King Abdullah of Jordan.

[Jay Sata]

Barbaric and in the name of their own belief of a fairy in the sky.

I hope these scum are wiped from the face of the earth.

[uptheos]

There;s nothing left to say, the pussy footing has to stop and radical actions call for radical solutions.

It's time for an all out assault on ISIS from every possible angle in whatever form it takes.

Any Brit or other nationality flying the ISIS flag, or going to fight with them or any other jihadist group should receive at the very minimum a mandatory 25 year prison sentence! The same applies with hate speech from the Muslim clerics.......25 years minimum with no parol.

ITS TIME TO TAKE THE GLOVES OFF!

[Jay Sata]

Not just jailed but exiled to somewhere such as South Georgia in the Falklands and hard labour.

[uptheos]

Not just jailed but exiled to somewhere such as South Georgia in the Falklands and hard labour.

I'm open to anything that will cause them the severest hardship they could ever imagine.

South Georgia sounds good, a flag a few Korans and some food if and when it's available.

Let them make their own shelter and cuddle each other in the winter.

[ABCer]

Ironically, I think ISIS will herald the end of Islamic extremism.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31123786

"Today we stand shoulder to shoulder with the family of the martyr hero Moaz, with our people and our armed forces in this tragedy," he added. "At these difficult times it is every Jordanian's duty to stand together in the face of crises and ordeals, which will only make us stronger." - King Abdullah of Jordan.

MJP, you are right... but you are wrong.

Kind words cost nothing but they are worth nothing as well.

Unfortunately it is the end of the Western civilization that is heralded not Islamic extremism.

There is no Islamic extremism as such. There is Islam. And it is on the move. And it is in our midst.

West cannot fight Islam in its midst. West cannot fight Islam's ruthlessness armed with its pissweak ideology. West cannot get rid of its ideology.

This will be its undoing. There is no inevitability in the West succumbing to Islam but it will. Because it is weak. I am truly sorry.

[Dannyboy666]

Hopefully this will instigate some Muslim on Muslim Hatred and end this Debacle...

[MJP]

Ironically, I think ISIS will herald the end of Islamic extremism.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31123786

"Today we stand shoulder to shoulder with the family of the martyr hero Moaz, with our people and our armed forces in this tragedy," he added. "At these difficult times it is every Jordanian's duty to stand together in the face of crises and ordeals, which will only make us stronger." - King Abdullah of Jordan.

MJP, you are right... but you are wrong.

Kind words cost nothing but they are worth nothing as well.

Unfortunately it is the end of the Western civilization that is heralded not Islamic extremism.

There is no Islamic extremism as such. There is Islam. And it is on the move. And it is in our midst.

West cannot fight Islam in its midst. West cannot fight Islam's ruthlessness armed with its pissweak ideology. West cannot get rid of its ideology.

This will be its undoing. There is no inevitability in the West succumbing to Islam but it will. Because it is weak. I am truly sorry.

It's actually long been my fear that this is the case. However, I suspect ISIS will cause Islam to reconsider the way it values human life, the rights of women and children.

Other than that we always have nuclear weapons.

[redandyellow]

WW III unfortunately started quite some time ago

[chiang mai]

Barbaric indeed. But Jordan seems to have a suitable response, they have said they will execute all ISIL prisoners at dawn today!

[MJP]

WW III unfortunately started quite some time ago

Yes. I believe so.

[uptheos]

Barbaric indeed. But Jordan seems to have a suitable response, they have said they will execute all ISIL prisoners at dawn today!

Hopefully the will do it the same way as their prisoner died!

[MJP]

Barbaric indeed. But Jordan seems to have a suitable response, they have said they will execute all ISIL prisoners at dawn today!

Hopefully the will do it the same way as their prisoner died!

Hopefully not. To reduce themselves to that level of barbarism does not help the cause. In fact, don't kill them. Lead by example and hopefully it will turn Muslims away from extremism.

[chooka]

Such an evil barbaric cult and they keep shoving this crap that they are a tolerant and peaceful religion down our throats.

[uptheos]

Barbaric indeed. But Jordan seems to have a suitable response, they have said they will execute all ISIL prisoners at dawn today!

Hopefully the will do it the same way as their prisoner died!

Hopefully not. To reduce themselves to that level of barbarism does not help the cause. In fact, don't kill them. Lead by example and hopefully it will turn Muslims away from extremism.

Not a hope in hell MJP.

Time for the gloves to come off!

[chooka]

Barbaric indeed. But Jordan seems to have a suitable response, they have said they will execute all ISIL prisoners at dawn today!

Hopefully the will do it the same way as their prisoner died!

Hopefully not. To reduce themselves to that level of barbarism does not help the cause. In fact, don't kill them. Lead by example and hopefully it will turn Muslims away from extremism.

Just bathe them in pigs blood, fitting non violent punishment.

[MJP]

This is a war. But it's a war of extremist ideology. You can keep killing the man, but you can only win if you kill the ideology.

I'm still fearful that this is the basis of Islam. Yet to be proven.

[shirtless]

Its time to repatriate Muslims back to their home countries why should we risk our countries welfare for a bunch of ingrates and for the pc crowd out there before you rush to their defence go live in a Muslim area .

[canman]

Could this be the spark which ignites a proper full scale middle east war? One where the west sits back and watches as the savages tear each other apart?

[Seastallion]

There;s nothing left to say, the pussy footing has to stop and radical actions call for radical solutions.

It's time for an all out assault on ISIS from every possible angle in whatever form it takes.

Any Brit or other nationality flying the ISIS flag, or going to fight with them or any other jihadist group should receive at the very minimum a mandatory 25 year prison sentence! The same applies with hate speech from the Muslim clerics.......25 years minimum with no parol.

ITS TIME TO TAKE THE GLOVES OFF!

Gloves off and poisoned knuckle dusters on.

The video is ISIS propaganda but will certainly backfire....it's propaganda to fuel the West and the rest of Islam and the world.

Beheading is bad enough...burning alive is beyond atrocious.

Total obliteration of ISIS is the only way.

A special punishment should be reserved for captured fighters, and our own propaganda should make this known that we will fight fire with fire.

[MJP]

There;s nothing left to say, the pussy footing has to stop and radical actions call for radical solutions.

It's time for an all out assault on ISIS from every possible angle in whatever form it takes.

Any Brit or other nationality flying the ISIS flag, or going to fight with them or any other jihadist group should receive at the very minimum a mandatory 25 year prison sentence! The same applies with hate speech from the Muslim clerics.......25 years minimum with no parol.

ITS TIME TO TAKE THE GLOVES OFF!

Gloves off and poisoned knuckle dusters on.

The video is ISIS propaganda but will certainly backfire....it's propaganda to fuel the West and the rest of Islam and the world.

Beheading is bad enough...burning alive is beyond atrocious.

Total obliteration of ISIS is the only way.

A special punishment should be reserved for captured fighters, and our own propaganda should make this known that we will fight fire with fire.

Chooks has it right.

Bombs don't work.

But C-130's converted into crop sprayers and charged up with pigs blood just might.

[canman]

Barbaric indeed. But Jordan seems to have a suitable response, they have said they will execute all ISIL prisoners at dawn today!

Hopefully the will do it the same way as their prisoner died!

Hopefully not. To reduce themselves to that level of barbarism does not help the cause. In fact, don't kill them. Lead by example and hopefully it will turn Muslims away from extremism.

Unfortunately the only way to defeat savages is by savage means. This is why the west will never win with its current mindset. It's not a case of reducing ourselves to their level its a case of winning by what ever means are required.

In WW2 mass fire bombing of civilians in Germany and Japan as well as nukes in Japan were used because it was deemed necessary to defeat the enemy. WW3 will be won by those who use what ever tactics are required to win.

Never forget that war is the enevitable result of failed politicians.

[MJP]

Barbaric indeed. But Jordan seems to have a suitable response, they have said they will execute all ISIL prisoners at dawn today!

Hopefully the will do it the same way as their prisoner died!

Hopefully not. To reduce themselves to that level of barbarism does not help the cause. In fact, don't kill them. Lead by example and hopefully it will turn Muslims away from extremism.

Unfortunately the only way to defeat savages is by savage means. This is why the west will never win with its current mindset. It's not a case of reducing ourselves to their level its a case of winning by what ever means are required.

In WW2 mass fire bombing of civilians in Germany and Japan as well as nukes in Japan were used because it was deemed necessary to defeat the enemy. WW3 will be won by those who use what ever tactics are required to win.

Never forget that war is the enevitable result of failed politicians.

My Grandfather was the squadron leader who led the fire bombing of Dresden et.al.

I agree that tactics will win. But right now the tactics are wrong.

[robertthebruce]

How sad is this... what a death..

Poor Poor Man....

[uptheos]

My Grandfather was the squadron leader who led the fire bombing of Dresden et.al.

I agree that tactics will win. But right now the tactics are wrong.

Your grandfather was a great man, if I knew him the drinks would be on me........forever!

[luk AJ]

Unfortunately a lot of truth in above threads, first an alliance should do whatever possible to root out the core ISIS butchers. I say unfortunately because I do agree the western stance on Islam should be hardened. Zero tolerance on any crime, no Mosques, no ghettos. Full integration or back from where they come. I know this is extreme but something has to be done and nukes are not the solution. I realize most of moslim people are peaceful, but I don't see another way to filter out the extremists hiding in their midst. Where are our leaders, where are the special forces? How many more beheadings we will have to wittness?

[MJP]

My Grandfather was the squadron leader who led the fire bombing of Dresden et.al.

I agree that tactics will win. But right now the tactics are wrong.

Your grandfather was a great man, if I knew him the drinks would be on me........forever!

He was.

But you understand what I'm saying about tactics? It's easy to kill the man. But so difficult to kill the ideology. Choosing the easy option simply isn't going to work this time. Yes, ISIS terrorist all need to go, but until you change the mindset against Islamic extremism this will just keep rolling on down the same old road.

[chrisinth]

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There;s nothing left to say, the pussy footing has to stop and radical actions call for radical solutions.

It's time for an all out assault on ISIS from every possible angle in whatever form it takes.

Any Brit or other nationality flying the ISIS flag, or going to fight with them or any other jihadist group should receive at the very minimum a mandatory 25 year prison sentence! The same applies with hate speech from the Muslim clerics.......25 years minimum with no parol.

ITS TIME TO TAKE THE GLOVES OFF!

Gloves off and poisoned knuckle dusters on.

The video is ISIS propaganda but will certainly backfire....it's propaganda to fuel the West and the rest of Islam and the world.

Beheading is bad enough...burning alive is beyond atrocious.

Total obliteration of ISIS is the only way.

A special punishment should be reserved for captured fighters, and our own propaganda should make this known that we will fight fire with fire.

You seem a bit confused Seastallion. If you are prepared to use poisoned knuckle dusters, there will be no captured fighters.

Until the west, or any opposed coalition force adopt this policy, nothing will change.

Fire with fire is the way, but bound to be damped by today's PC beliefs.

[chrisinth]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Could this be the spark which ignites a proper full scale middle east war? One where the west sits back and watches as the savages tear each other apart?

Unfortunately the west can't just sit back and watch. Any offensive will be backed by the west, whether overtly or covertly.