The father of the Jordanian pilot killed by ISIS has called on Jordan’s government to execute all prisoners with links to ISIS to avenge his son’s death.
Safi al-Kasasbeh told reporters Wednesday that his son’s “blood is much more valued than” that of the two terrorist prisoners executed hours earlier by Jordan.
Jordan swiftly responded to the brutal killing of one of its fighter pilots by ISIS, announcing the executions of two jihadist prisoners early Wednesday.
One of the convicts hanged, according to the Jordanian government, was Sajida al-Rishawi, a would-be suicide bomber whose release ISIS had previously demanded as part of a prisoner exchange.
The other was Ziad Karbouli, a former top aide to the deceased leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Their deaths followed the horrific footage released Tuesday by ISIS that showed the Jordanian pilot, Moath al-Kasasbeh, being burned alive while confined in a cage.
CNN is not showing images of al-Kasasbeh’s killing, which drew global condemnation and prompted protests and vows of retaliation in Jordan.
Amid calls for unity from Jordanian authorities, people rallying in the streets of Amman, the capital, and in the pilot’s hometown directed their anger at ISIS.
One demonstrator held a poster that read: “They burned our hearts, so let’s burn their dens, and their prisoners in our prisons.”
King Abdullah of Jordan was expected to arrive back in the country Wednesday after cutting short a visit to the United States, where he met with President Barack Obama. There were calls to gather at the airport where the King was due to arrive to show support.
t gave his life defending his faith, country and nation and joined other Jordanian martyrs who gave their lives for Jordan,” King Abdullah said in a televised statement Tuesday, describing ISIS as a cowardly and deviant group that has nothing to do with Islam.
Al-Kasasbeh was captured by ISIS in December after his fighter jet crashed near Raqqa, the extremist group’s stronghold in Syria. He was participating in the U.S.-led air campaign against ISIS targets.
Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani vowed “an earthshaking retaliation” and “a revenge that equals the tragedy that has befallen the Jordanians.” But the executions of the two prisoners with ties to al Qaeda in Iraq, a precursor to ISIS, came quicker than some observers had expected.
