Re: ISIS reportedly burnt Jordanian pilot alive
A much needed action:
Jordan to execute six ISIS prisoners in retaliation to Jordanian pilot being burnt alive | Daily Mail Online
Jordan announces execution of six ISIS prisoners ‘within hours’ in retaliation after terrorists release lavish video of Jordanian pilot being TORCHED to death in a cage in yet another new low for humanity
Militants fighting for the Islamic State terror group in Syria and Iraq have claimed to have burned alive captured Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh while he was locked helpless in a cage.
The chilling footage, entitled ‘Healing the Believers’ Chests’, appears to show the captured airman being set alight as the militants - infamous for their barbaric murders - plunged new depths of depravity.
The expertly-edited footage, filmed from several camera angles, shows the pilot wearing an orange jumpsuit and seemingly doused in fuel, as a trail of petrol leading up to the iron bars of the cage is seen being set ablaze.
Flames are seen quickly spreading across the dirt to the cage where they completely engulf the helpless pilot in images that are far too distressing to publish.
The release of the video has prompted Jordan to announce it will execute all six prisoners convicted of association with ISIS ‘within hours’.
Within an hour of the 22-minute-long video’s publication, Jordan reportedly moved ISIS-linked prisoners to a jail in the south of the country which is usually used for state executions
It is understood the execution of Sajida al-Rishawi - the female militant whom ISIS had originally demanded Jordan release in exchange for Kasasbeh - will take place tomorrow morning.
Last night it was reported that Jordanian officials had told the 26 year-old pilot’s devastated family that they believed the footage to be genuine and that the man branded a ‘hero’ in his homeland was dead.
It was the first time the pilot had been seen since he was captured in December by triumphant ISIS fighters when his F-16 jet crashed near the group’s Syrian headquarters of Raqqa during a US-Coalition led airstrike.
‘Not in vain’
Mamdouh al-Ameri, spokesman for the Jordanian armed forces, confirmed the pilot’s death and vowed revenge.
In a televised address, he said: ‘While the military forces mourn the martyr, they emphasise his blood will not be shed in vain. The revenge will be as big as the calamity that has hit Jordan.’
King Abdullah II, speaking from his U.S visit in Washington, made a statement on Jordanian TV, saying he had received news of the ‘martyrdom with sadness and deep sorrow’.
Calling the murder a ‘cowardly act of terror’, he also pleaded for his countrymen to stand ‘side-by-side’, vowing that Kasasbeh’s death ‘would only make us stronger’.
US President Barack Obama says that if the video turns out to be authentic, it would be more evidence of the group’s ‘viciousness and barbarity.’
He added that the U.S. would ‘redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of our global coalition to make sure they are degraded and ultimately defeated,’ adding that the footage serves to indicate that ‘whatever ideology they are operating out of is bankrupt.’
Prime Minister David Cameron also condemned the ‘sickening murder’, but said it would only ‘strengthen our resolve’.
He said: ‘I pay tribute to the dedication and bravery of Lieutenant Moaz al-Kassasbeh, who paid with his life while protecting his country and us all. My thoughts and prayers are with his family tonight at this tragic time.
‘These terrorists’ brutal behaviour will only strengthen our resolve… We will not stop until these evil extremists and their poisonous ideology are defeated.’
Led to his death
The footage showing Kasasbeh’s gruesome murder appears to be professionally shot and edited in the style of the horrific beheading videos featuring the terror group’s executioner in chief, Jihadi John.
The video, which is ISIS’ most sickening yet, begins with a lengthy montage showing Jordan’s King Abdullah II declaring his support for the anti-ISIS coalition in the style of a TV news report.
+19
Captured: Muath al-Kasasbeh (centre in white) was captured by the Islamic State after after crashing near its HQ in the Syrian city of Raqqa in December. ISIS is now believed to brutally murdered him
+19
ISIS threatened to kill Kasasbeh (centre) if a deadline was not met for the release of would be Rishawi
+19
+19
Exchange: The Jordanian government had said they will only release failed female suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi (right), who is on death row in Jordan, if it gets proof Mr Kasasbeh (left) is alive
It then cuts to beaten and bruised-looking Kasasbeh sitting in a darkened room wearing a Guantanamo-style orange overall and giving details of his training as a pilot, the anti-ISIS airstrikes he took part in, and details of crash in which his F-16 jet came down in jihadi-held territory.
At several points the camera zooms in close to his face, on which there is a look of resignation similar to that of other hostages murdered on propaganda videos.
Unusually, the footage also features close up shots of the masked militants, one of whom later kneels down to set light to the trail of petrol that would eventually burn al-Kasasbeh alive.
Before cutting to the sickening murder, the video - released by ISIS’ Al-Furqan media centre - continues with TV-style news reports showing the dead and dying child victims of coalition airstikes.
Scars of beatings
The video then cuts to Kasasbeh standing in the centre of a rubble-strewn courtyard surrounded by heavily-armed militants wearing yellow face masks and military fatigues.
The pilot’s face bears the scars of beatings. It looks swollen, heavily bruised and bloody in places.
There is no sound other than that of crows cawing for more than a minute as the HD camera films close-up high definition shots of the soon-to-be victim and his killers.
+19
Relatives of Moaz al-Kasasbeh held pictures of him at a rally calling for his release earlier today
+19
Grief: Anwar al-Tarawneh, the wife of Kasasbeh, appeared at a protest in Amman, Jordan earlier today calling for his release
+19
Anger: Jordan had vowed to do ‘everything’ could to save the life of ISIS-held pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh. Here Kasasbeh’s relatives hold posters of the captive during a rally in the city of Karak over the weekend
Kasasbeh is then seen standing in a cage as a militant - identified at the end of the video by the name Emir Ahmed - uses a large stick to light the trail of petrol leading up to his feet.
Engulfed by flames
The enormous flames quickly engulf the pilot, who is seen battling them for more than than a minute before falling to his knees and putting up no further resistance. He remains alive for at least another 30 seconds, however, before falling backwards on to the floor of the cage.
Fighters then pour debris, including broken masonry, over the cage which a bulldozer flattens, with the body still inside.
Twisted metal, a mechanical digger and two single-storey buildings are shown in the background of what is believed to be a district of Raqqa.
Several cameras appear to have been used to film the pilot’s last minutes from a variety of angles. The has been expertly cut together by the group’s propaganda wing – said to include several Britons because of their social media skills.
Images of the killing were circulated by IS supporters on a Twitter account known for the group’s propaganda although the video was taken down from YouTube.
Even by the sick standards of IS whose fighters have tortured, beheaded, executed, crucified and stoned its victims – another recently released video showed a man blindfolded and thrown from the seven floor of a tower block for ‘being gay’, incredibly he survived the fall only to be stoned to death - the latest killing plunges new depths.
Negotiations
The video comes just days after ISIS’ British executioner in chief, Jihadi John, savagely murdered Japanese journalist Kenji Goto in a shocking filmed beheading after days of intensive negotiations through intermediaries to save him.
His fate had been linked to that of al-Kassasbeh after he was shown holding a picture of the Jordanian – the only Coalition pilot to have been captured.
+19
A bereaved man prays with verses of Quran at the Kasasbeh tribe society for Muath Al Kasasbeh, after hearing the news of his execution
+19
Yaseen Al Rawashdeh, uncle of Kasasbeh, speaks to the media at the Kasasbeh tribe society after news of his nephew’s death emerged
+19
Angry Jordanians gather in Amman after hearing of Kasasbeh’s barbaric murder at the hands of ISIS jihadists
+19
Activists took to the street in Amman to protest and wave their flags in defiance of the shocking video
+19
The demonstrators carried signed which read: ‘We demand the execution of Islamic State detainees in Jordan’
Yesterday Jordanian government spokesman Momeni said: ‘All state organisations have been mobilised to secure the proof of life that we require so that he can be freed and returned to his home.
‘We are still ready to hand over the convict Sajida al-Rishawi in return for the return of our son and our hero.’
He condemned the jihadists’ murder of Japanese journalist 47-yer-old Goto after days of intensive efforts through intermediaries to save him, adding: ‘We spared no effort, in coordination with the Japanese government, to save his life.’
The release of the horrific footage appears to confirm rumours heard by anti-ISIS activists in the terror group’s stronghold Raqqa in early January that the pilot had already been killed by burning.
Jordanian officials agreed 44 year-old Sajida al-Rishawi, sentenced to death for her part in an Al Qaeda bombing plot that killed 60 people at three hotels in Amman in 2005, would be released but only if the jihadists provided proof that al-Kassasbeh was still alive.
Jordan had been conducting indirect, behind-the-scenes negotiations through tribal leaders in neighbouring Iraq.
When no evidence was provided, it raised suspicions that the pilot was already dead and that ISIS was exploiting his case for propaganda, seeking to split the Coalition and turn Jordanians against its controversial role in airstrikes over Syria.
Protests
Officials said last night that it was unclear when the video - released yesterday - was made, although there were reports that the killing took place a month ago, on January 3.
US, British and Israeli video specialists were studying the footage for clues as to where and when it had been filmed
