Jordanian King Abdullah II visits family of executed pilot by ISIS

The Jordanian King Abdullah II personally has paid his condolences to the affected victim's family that was executed pilot by ISIS.  He personally paid his condolences this Thursday to the family of the fighter pilot burned to death by the Islamic State group, after promising harsh revenge for his execution.
The king travelled to Karak, 120 kilometres south of the capital, the hometown of Maaz al-Kassasbeh, where a traditional mourning tent was set up for the family to receive guests, state television showed.

 Photos posted on social media showed the Jordanian king in the town of Karak, 120 south of the capital Amman. (Photo courtesy of Twitter) 

Hundreds of people, including representatives of the military and civilians, gathered as the king, wearing a red and white checked keffiyeh, sat next to the 26-year-old first lieutenant’s father Safi al-Kassasbeh.
In tribute to the pilot, captured in December after his F-16 fighter jet went down in Syria, Jordanian warplanes flew overhead.
The king cut short a visit to the United States and flew back to Amman after the harrowing video emerged on Tuesday of Kassasbeh’s killing.
Thursday’s television report did not carry any remarks by the king during his visit to the Kassasbeh family, but he had previously said the “response of Jordan and its army after what happened to our dear son will be severe”.

 

Jordan's King Abdullah II (L) greeting Safi, the father of Jordanian pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh. Main photo, a Jordanian jet returns from bombing Isis targets. Photo / AFP, AP

The military said "dozens of jet fighters" struck Isis targets overnight, "hitting training camps of the terrorist groups as well as weapons and ammunition warehouses."
It did not say where the targets were located -- Isis holds swathes of Syria and Iraq -- but said they were destroyed and the aircraft returned to base safely.

Jordan's military pledged to "destroy this terrorist group and kill the evil in its own place", saying it would punish Isis "for the heinous act" of burning the pilot alive.
Personifying the nation's grief and deep anger over the horrifying murder, Abdullah visited the airman's family, which has urged the government to "destroy" the jihadists, to pay his condolences.

An image grab taken from the Jordanian TV on February 5, 2015 shows flames erupting from a building hit by an airstrike against Islamic State. Photo / AFP

 

Jordan has conducted regular raids against Isis across the border in Syria as part of a US-led campaign against the Sunni extremist group.
More than 200,000 people have died since anti-government protests erupted in Syria in early 2011, escalating into a multi-sided civil war that brought jihadists streaming into the country.

Jawdat al-Kaseasbeh, a brother of slain Jordanians pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh, reacts to people gathering to show their support for the government against Isis. Photo / AP

At least 66 people, including 12 children, were killed by regime air strikes and shelling on rebel areas around Damascus Thursday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The assault on the Eastern Ghouta region came after rebels fired more than 100 rockets at the city, killing 10 people including a child, the Britain-based group said.

 

The gruesome murder of Maaz al-Kassasbeh, captured by Isis in December after his F-16 crashed 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," government newspaper Al-Rai wrote in an editorial. "We are on the lookout for this band of criminals."
The execution has sparked outrage in Jordan and protests in Amman and Karak, bastion of Kassasbeh's influential tribe.
Solidarity demonstrations with the family are planned for nationwide after Friday's weekly Muslim prayers.
Abdullah cut short a US visit and returned to Amman after the video of Kassasbeh's killing emerged.

A Jordanian Air Force fighter jet flies over the village of Ai as Jordanian King Abdullah II visits to offer his condolences to the tribe of the slain Jordanian pilot. Photo / AP

"The blood of martyr Maaz al-Kassasbeh will not be in vain and the response of Jordan and its army after what happened to our dear son will be severe," he said afterwards.
On Wednesday, in response, Jordan executed two Iraqis on death row -- female would-be suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi and Al-Qaeda operative Ziad al-Karboli.
Abdullah travelled Thursday 120 kilometres south of Amman to Karak, where a traditional mourning tent was set up for Kassasbeh's family to receive guests.
Hundreds of people, including representatives of the military and civilians, gathered as the king, wearing a red and white checked keffiyeh, sat next to the 26-year-old first lieutenant's father.

Jan. 27, 2015 file photo, the mother of Jordanian pilot Lt. Mu'ath al-Kaseasbeh holds a picture of her son. Photo / AP

- 'Infidels and terrorists' -

Safi al-Kassasbeh branded Isis "infidels and terrorists who know no humanity or human rights", and said the "international community must destroy" the group.
Isis had offered to spare Kassasbeh's life and free Japanese journalist Kenji Goto -- who was later beheaded -- in exchange for Rishawi's release.
Rishawi, 44, was sentenced to death for her role in triple hotel bombings in Amman in 2005 that killed 60 people.
She was closely linked to Isis' predecessor organisation in Iraq, and was seen as an important symbol for the jihadists.
Jordanian television suggested Kassasbeh was killed on January 3, before IS offered to spare him and free Goto in return for Rishawi's release.
Following the airman's capture, another member of the US-led coalition, the United Arab Emirates, withdrew from air strike missions over fears for the safety of its pilots, a US official said.
"I can confirm that UAE suspended air strikes shortly after the Jordanian pilot's plane went down," the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity, but stressed the UAE's continuing "important and valuable" role in the coalition.
US President Barack Obama, who had hosted Abdullah in a hastily organised meeting before his return to Jordan, decried the "cowardice and depravity" of Isis.
Benjamin Netanyahu also extended his condolences to the king in a phone call on Thursday, the Israeli premier's office said.
Isis had previously beheaded two US journalists, an American aid worker and two British aid workers in similar videos. It has also killed a second Japanese hostage.