Special to the AmNews
The barbarism from the Islamic State group took another gruesome turn after they released a video purportedly showing a captive Jordanian pilot being burned to death. Exactly when Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh was killed is not known, though there are reports that it happened in early January.
Whenever it occurred, the video outraged the Jordanian people and prompted a convoy to proceed to the jail and take two prisoners linked to al-Qaida, including a woman who was a failed suicide bomber, and executed them.
Tuesday, President Barack Obama met with Jordanian King Abdullah II and vowed not to relent in their fight against the Islamic State group. “Lt. Al-Kaseasbeh’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,” Obama said after extending his condolences to the aggrieved family.
The president added in reference to the Islamic State group. that the pilot’s death would “redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of our global coalition to make sure they are degraded and ultimately defeated.
Apparently the pilot was already dead when the Islamic State group offered to swap him for their imprisoned members. The Jordanian government was willing to negotiate such an arrangement if they could have been assured the pilot was still alive.
The timing of the atrocity was propitious for Abdullah, since he was due in the states for scheduled meetings, but he was obviously shocked by the developments and was comforted by the president.
Kaseasbeh was shot down in December during a bombing raid in Syria, his F-16 crashing in a swamp. He was dragged from the wreckage and held prisoner by the Islamic State group, which then began to discuss a prisoner exchange.
The fate of other prisoners held by the Islamic State group hangs in the balance as the coalition forces—Jordan, the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates—continue their mission to root out and destroy the Islamic State group.