Jordan Executes Jihadists after IS Murder of Pilot
Jordan executed two Iraqi jihadists, including a female would-be suicide bomber, on Wednesday in response to the burning alive of one of its fighter pilots by the Islamic State group.
The gruesome murder of airman Maaz al-Kassasbeh triggered condemnation from governments across the Middle East, while a top Muslim body called for the killing or crucifixion of IS militants.
Jordan said it hanged female militant Sajida al-Rishawi and al-Qaida member Ziad al-Karboli -- who were both on death row -- before dawn at a prison south of the capital.
Amman had promised to begin executing Islamic extremists in response to the murder of Kassasbeh, who was captured by IS when his plane went down in Syria in December.
Jordan's King Abdullah II described Kassasbeh as a hero and vowed to take the battle to IS after a video emerged purporting to show the caged 26-year-old F-16 fighter pilot engulfed in flames.
Abdullah cut short a visit to Washington and flew back to Amman where he was greeted by large crowds at the airport before going straight into talks with his security chiefs.
Rishawi, 44, was sentenced to death for her participation in triple hotel bombings in Amman in 2005 that killed 60 people.
IS had offered to spare Kassasbeh's life and free Japanese journalist Kenji Goto -- who was later beheaded -- if she were released.
The new video -- the most brutal yet in a series of recorded killings of hostages by IS -- prompted global revulsion and vows of unwavering international efforts to combat the Sunni Muslim extremist group.
The killing sparked outrage in Jordan and demonstrations in Amman and the city of Karak, the home of Kassasbeh's influential tribe.
Egypt's al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's most prestigious seat of learning, called for the "killing, crucifixion or chopping of the limbs" of IS militants, expressing outrage over their "cowardly act".
The pre-dawn hangings, which were criticized by rights campaigners, came just weeks after Jordan ended an eight-year moratorium on the death penalty.
Executions should not be used "as a tool for revenge," Amnesty International said.
"The IS's gruesome tactics must not be allowed to fuel a bloody cycle of reprisal executions."
Rishawi was closely linked to IS's predecessor organization in Iraq and seen as an important symbol for the jihadists.
Karboli was sentenced to death in 2007 on terrorism charges, including the killing of a Jordanian in Iraq.
Jordan, a crucial ally of Washington in the Middle East, is one of several Arab countries that have joined a US-led coalition carrying out air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq.
The New York Times, quoting U.S. officials, reported Wednesday that the United Arab Emirates had suspended its participation in December after Kassasbeh's capture due to fears for the safety of its pilots.
There was no official confirmation of the report.
Jordan promised to avenge the pilot's murder, with a spokesman saying: "Jordan's response will be earth-shattering."
U.S. President Barack Obama, who hosted King Abdullah in a hastily organized Oval Office meeting, led condemnation of the airman's killing, decrying the "cowardice and depravity" of IS.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the brutality of IS was "beyond comprehension".
"It has nothing to do with our religion."
The Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars, headed by influential preacher Yusuf al-Qaradawi, described the murder as "a crime contrary to sharia" Islamic law.
Kassasbeh was captured in December when his jet crashed over northern Syria on a mission that was part of the coalition air campaign against the jihadists.
Jordanian state television suggested he was killed on January 3, before IS offered to spare his life and free Goto in return for Rishawi's release.
The highly choreographed 22-minute video released Tuesday shows Kassasbeh recounting coalition operations against IS, with flags from the Western and Arab nations in the alliance projected in the background.
It then shows Kassasbeh dressed in an orange jumpsuit and surrounded by armed and masked IS fighters.
It cuts to him standing inside a cage and apparently soaked in petrol before a masked jihadist lights a trail of flame that runs to the cage and burns him alive.
Saudi Arabia's new King Salman called the killing "inhuman and contrary to Islam".
His country, the spiritual home of Islam and another member of the coalition, condemned the "misguided ideology" behind Kassasbeh's murder and accused groups like IS of seeking "to distort the values of Islam".
The UAE said the actions of IS "represent epidemics that must be eradicated by civilized societies without delay".
IS had previously beheaded two U.S. journalists, an American aid worker and two British aid workers in similar videos.
IS has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq and last year declared a "caliphate" in areas under its control, imposing its brutal interpretation of Islam and committing widespread atrocities.
In the Syrian border town of Kobane, Kurdish fighters who recently drove out IS with help from coalition air strikes held a minute's silence for Kassasbeh.
"He is one of Kobane's martyrs," said activist Mustafa Ebdi.
Source: Agence France Presse
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