Jordan Participates in Anti-IS Bombing After Hostage Killed

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Jordan participated in coalition airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq, following the terrorist group’s killing of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh, Combined Joint Task Force officials said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider international community,” the statement said. "Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates."

The coalition conducted 11 strikes in Syria and six in Iraq against the ISIL, according to the statement.

Wednesday’s airstrikes came one day after IS released a video purporting to show al-Kasaesbeh was being burned to death in a cage.

ISIL had demanded the release of an al-Qaeda prisoner held by Jordan in exchange for al-Kasaesbeh, but Jordan first demanded proof that the pilot was still alive.

Al-Kasaesbeh was taken hostage in December when his airplane was shot down in northern Syria.

Jordan responded to the video by executing two al-Qaeda prisoners it held, Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziad Karboli, both Iraqi nationals, Jordan’s government spokesperson Mohammed al-Momani said.

Arizona Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, denounced the murder of al-Kasaesbeh in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the committee’s “immediate concern is to ensure Jordan has all the equipment and resources necessary to continue taking the fight directly to ISIL.”

McCain met with Jordanian King Abdullah II during his visit to Washington on Tuesday, according to the statement, but the king cut his trip short after the ISIL released the video of the killing of al-Kasaesbeh.