Islamic State Targeted in Onslaught of Airstrikes

In this image from undated video provided by Jordanian military via Jordan TV, explosions go off during airstrikes at an undisclosed location in Syria.

Jordanian and U.S.-led forces targeted the Islamic State group in an onslaught of airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, military sources reported Saturday.
Jordan continued a third straight day of airstrikes in retaliation for the Islamic extremist group’s immolation of captured fighter pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh, whose horrific death was shown in a video released Tuesday. He reportedly had been killed in early January.

The men and boys of Raqqa watched the Jordanian pilot burn

Big screens were set up in IS stronghold of Raqqa in Syria to watch video of Jordanian pilot being burned alive at the same time the organization posted the execution online.


   On Tuesday evening, big screens were set up on the streets and squares of the Syrian town Raqqa, the stronghold of the self-styled Islamic State. As word spread of the show that was about to begin, thousands of men and young boys gathered around the screens and the projectors.At exactly the same time, the organization posted online its sickening execution of 26-year-old Lt. Moa'ath al-Kassasbeh, the Jordanian F16 pilot downed on Christmas eve over IS-controlled territory. Media outlets around the world decided the video was too gruesome to be aired. 

Kayla Mueller's parents appeal to ISIS: 'We are still hopeful'

Amman, Jordan (CNN)The parents of Kayla Mueller are imploring ISIS to talk to them. They believe -- or at least hope -- that their daughter may still be alive.

"We have sent you a private message and ask that you respond to us privately," Carl and Marsha Mueller said in a statement.

Until now, they said, they have not talked to the media as ISIS warned them not to.

The terror group captured Mueller, an Arizona native, in 2013. It said Friday that a Jordanian airstrike that pounded their de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria also killed her.

CNN had previously not published her name at the request of her relatives, who have now publicly identified her.

Jordan's air strikes on IS 'beginning of retaliation'

The Jordanian aircraft flew over the pilot's village, south of Amman

Jordanian air strikes on Islamic State (IS) targets are "the beginning of our retaliation" for the killing of a captured Jordanian pilot, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh has said.

He told CNN that Jordan was going after IS "with everything that we have".
Jordan had previously only bombed IS sites in Syria, but Mr Judeh said it was now also targeting IS in Iraq.
This comes after IS released a video showing Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh being burned alive in a cage.
After Thursday's strikes, Jordanian war planes flew over Lt Kasasbeh's home village.
Their flight coincided with a visit to the village by Jordanian King Abdullah II, who was meeting the pilot's family.
The king has vowed to step up the fight against IS. Jordan is part of a US-led coalition bombing the militants.
'Ongoing effort' In a separate interview with Fox News, Mr Judeh said: "We said we are going to take this all the way, we are going to go after them wherever they are and we're doing that."

King Abdullah (left) had an emotional meeting with the family of pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh

 

Lt Moaz al-Kasasbeh had been held hostage since his plane came down on 24 December

The minister confirmed that some of the strikes targeted militant training camps and ammunition depots both in Syria and Iraq.
"Today more Syria than Iraq, but... it's an ongoing effort."
Lt Kasasbeh, 26, was captured by the militants in December after his F-16 fighter jet crashed in Syria.
IS this week released its video showing the pilot's execution.
Jordan has officially confirmed the death, but said it believed the pilot was killed on 3 January.
'Enemies of Islam' On Thursday, Jordan's state TV showed King Abdullah sitting sombre-faced with Saif al-Kasasbeh, the pilot's father, at a gathering in Aya village, near the city of Karak, south of the capital Amman.

Failed suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi had been on death row in Jordan for nearly a decade

The king gestured to the skies as the warplanes flew overhead, media reports said.
The army said in a statement that "dozens of jet fighters" had struck IS targets, including training camps and weapons warehouses.
State television showed people writing messages on what appeared to be missiles for the air strikes, with one calling IS "the enemies of Islam".

Why Jordan's tribal system matters - in 90 seconds

Also on Thursday, Jordan released an imprisoned jihadi cleric, Abu Mohammad al-Maqdisi, whose writings had inspired members of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Maqdisi, who has previously condemned IS as a "deviant organisation", was detained in late 2014 for promoting jihadist views online.
The reason for his release was unclear, but security sources told Reuters that Maqdisi was expected to condemn the burning of the pilot.
On Wednesday, Jordan responded to the killing of the pilot by executing two convicts, including Sajida al-Rishawi, a failed female suicide bomber, and an al-Qaeda operative.
Last week, IS had demanded the release of Rishawi in return for sparing the pilot's life.
Meanwhile, the US military said that the US-led coalition had conducted a total of nine air strikes on IS-targets in Iraq, and three on targets in Syria, between Wednesday and Thursday morning.
Those strikes hit IS units near the Syrian town of Kobane, and in seven Iraqi cities including Fallujah, Kirkuk and Mosul, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement.
Jordan is one of four Arab states to have taken part in the anti-IS air strikes in Syria.

Jordan executes 2 prisoners after ISIS video shows pilot being burned alive

 

 

DEVELOPING: Jordan said it had executed 2 prisoners early Wednesday after a new video surfaced on the Internet Tuesday showing ISIS burning alive a Jordanian pilot the terror group had held since December.

Government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani said that prisoners Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziad al-Karbouli were executed. Al-Rishawi has been on death row for her role in a triple hotel bombing in the Jordanian capital Amman in 2005 that killed dozens. Over the past week, Jordan had twice offered to swap her for the pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh. However, officials have said his captors did not deliver proof he was still alive, and the swap never moved forward.
The 44-year-old Iraqi woman's suicide belt did not detonate at the time of the Amman attack and she fled the scene, but was quickly arrested. After a televised confession, she recanted, but her appeal was turned down.
Al-Rishawi had family ties to the Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda, a precursor of ISIS. Ziad Al-Karbuli was a former aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian Al Qaeda operative who was killed in 2006.
The 22-minute video, which Jordan said is authentic, brought a grisly end to speculation into the fate of Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, 26, who was captured when his plane crashed during a bombing mission in Syria Dec. 24. The video, which reports said could have been made more than a month ago, shows the pilot standing in a cage with a line of fuel leading to him, which is then ignited, causing him to burst into flames. Islamic State had previously sought to trade Al-Kaseasbeh for Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman who is in a Jordanian prison for her role in a 2005 suicide bomb attack that killed 60 people in Amman.
WARNING, EXTREMELY GRAPHIC VIDEO: Jordanian pilot burned alive by ISIS
"It's just one more indication of the viciousness and barbarity of this organization," said President Obama, who met Tuesday evening with Jordan's King Abdullah in the Oval Office, where he offered his condolences. "And I think it will redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of the global coalition to make sure that they are degraded and ultimately defeated.”
In a statement before his meeting with Abdullah, Obama vowed 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."
"Lieutenant 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.

"This horrific, savage killing is yet another example of ISIL's contempt for life itself."- Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel

Dubai-based TV news channel Al Arabiya reported that the Jordanian military had notified al-Kaseasbeh's family that he had been killed and Jordanian TV reported that the pilot was killed Jan. 3.
In the video, viewed by Fox News, Al-Kaseasbeh, clad in an orange jumpsuit, speaks under clear duress. A narrator speaking in Arabic blasts Arab nations, including Jordan, for taking part in U.S.-led airstrikes against Islamic State. The final five minutes of the video show the caged pilot, his clothing apparently doused in gasoline as the fuel is lit. His screams are audible as he collapses to his knees. After being killed, the burned man and the cage are buried by a bulldozer. The video ends with ISIS offering "100 golden Dinars" for any Muslims in Jordan who kill other Jordanian pilots, whose names, pictures and hometowns are shown.
U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said administration officials are examining the video.

"We are aware of the video purporting to show that [al-Kaseasbeh] has been murdered by the terrorist group ISIL," read Meehan's statement. "The intelligence community is working to confirm its authenticity. The United States strongly condemns ISIL’s actions and we call for the immediate release of all those held captive by ISIL. We stand in solidarity with the Ggvernment of Jordan and the Jordanian people."
CIA and counter-terrorism analysts noted the tape follows a pattern familiar in ISIS clips. It features news clips of the Jordanian king with sound of coalition strikes and ground operations. Sources told Fox News it demonstrated the highest production values of any tape to date, suggesting it took considerable time to shoot and produce.
Release of the video follows days of intense protests by Jordanians outside King Abdullah’s palace over the government's refusal to agree on a prisoner swap with the terror group. Many Jordanians as well as the pilot’s family are faulting Amman – not ISIS – for allowing their country to be drawn into a "war" they claim is one between the Islamic State and the U.S. and its allies. Demonstrators outside the gates of the royal palace have cried out, “Abdullah, why are we fighting?” while other Jordanian protesters have taken to social media, creating an Arabic hashtag on Twitter that reads #NotOurWar.
The horrific footage surfaced just a day after top Islamic State leaders warned against social media disclosures of the terror army's activities that were not sanctioned by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi or the group's spokesman, Mohammad al-Adnani. It also came just hours after Secretary of State John Kerry met with King Abdullah and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh in Washington.
On Saturday, an online video surfaced that appeared to show Islamic State executing Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. And one week earlier, a video posted on the Internet showed the Islamist terror group delivering the same fate to another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa.

Fox News' Catherine Herridge and Nadiah Sarsour contributed to this report.
Original post found here:http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/02/04/new-isis-video-purpotedly-shows-jordanian-pilot-being-burned-alive/

New ISIS video purportedly shows Jordanian pilot being burned alive

 

 

A new video that surfaced on the Internet Tuesday appears to show ISIS burning alive a Jordanian pilot the terror group has held since December -- an act that reportedly has prompted Jordan to ready the execution of an unknown number of terrorist prisoners.
If authentic, the 22-minute video would bring a grisly end to speculation into the fate of Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, 26, who was captured when his plane crashed during a bombing mission in Syria Dec. 24. The video, which reports said could have been made more than a month ago, shows a man standing in a cage with a line of fuel leading to him, which is then ignited, causing him to burst into flames. Islamic State had previously sought to trade him for Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman who is in a Jordanian prison for her role in a 2005 suicide bomb attack that killed 60 people in Amman

“Should in fact this video be authentic, it’s just one more indication of the viciousness and barbarity of this organization," President Obama said. “This organization appears only interested in death and destruction.”

“Should in fact this video be authentic, it’s just one more indication of the viciousness and barbarity of this organization."- President Obama

Several media outlets reported that Jordan moved swiftly following the video's surfacing, transferring imprisoned jihadists, including al-Rishawi and Ziad Al-Karbuli, a former aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian Al Qaeda operative who was killed in 2006, in preparation for execution, perhaps within hours. Lebanon-based news channel Al Mayadeen nreported that Jordan intends to execute Al-Rishawi at dawn on Wednesday.
Jordan had shown a willingness to make the exchange, but had sought proof that its pilot was still alive. Dubai-based TV news channel Al Arabiya reported that the Jordanian military had notified al-Kaseasbeh's family that he had been killed and Jordanian TV reported that the pilot was killed Jan. 3.
In the video, viewed by Fox News, the man believed to be al-Kaseasbeh, clad in an orange jumpsuit, speaks under clear duress. A narrator speaking in Arabic blasts Arab nations, including Jordan, for taking part in U.S.-led airstrikes against Islamic State. The final five minutes of the video show the caged pilot, his clothing apparently doused in gasoline as the fuel is lit. His screams are audible as he collapses to his knees. After being killed, the burned man and the cage are buried by a bulldozer. The video ends with ISIS offering "100 golden Dinars" for any Muslims in Jordan who kill other Jordanian pilots, whose names, pictures and hometowns are shown.
U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said administration officials are examining the video.

"We are aware of the video purporting to show that [al-Kaseasbeh] has been murdered by the terrorist group ISIL," read Meehan's statement. "The intelligence community is working to confirm its authenticity. The United States strongly condemns ISIL’s actions and we call for the immediate release of all those held captive by ISIL. We stand in solidarity with the Government of Jordan and the Jordanian people."
CIA and counter-terrorism analysts noted the tape follows a pattern familiar in ISIS clips. It features news clips of the Jordanian king with sound of coalition strikes and ground operations. Sources told Fox News it demonstrated the highest production values of any tape to date, suggesting it took considerable time to shoot and produce.
Release of the video follows days of intense protests by Jordanians outside King Abdullah’s palace over the government's refusal to agree on a prisoner swap with the terror group. Many Jordanians as well as the pilot’s family are faulting Amman – not ISIS – for allowing their country to be drawn into a "war" they claim is one between the Islamic State and the U.S. and its allies. Demonstrators outside the gates of the royal palace have cried out, “Abdullah, why are we fighting?,” while other Jordanian protesters have taken to social media, creating an Arabic hashtag on Twitter that reads #NotOurWar.
The horrific footage surfaced just a day after top Islamic State leaders warned against social media disclosures of the terror army's activities that were not sanctioned by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi or the group's spokesman, Mohammad al-Adnani. It also came just hours after Secretary of State John Kerry met with King Abdullah and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh in Washington.
On Saturday, an online video surfaced that appeared to show Islamic State executing Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. And one week earlier, a video posted on the Internet showed the Islamist terror group delivering the same fate to another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa.

Fox News' Catherine Herridge and Nadiah Sarsour contributed to this report.

Original post found here: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/02/03/new-isis-video-purpotedly-shows-jordanian-pilot-being-burned-alive/