Two al-Qaeda prisoners were executed by the Jordan government on Wednesday, just hours after King Abdullah vowed a severe response and promised "revenge" for the gruesome murder of a captured Jordanian pilot who had been held captive by the Islamic State since December.
Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman facing execution in a Jordanian prison for her role in a 2005 suicide bomb attack that killed 60 people in Amman, was hanged early Wednesday morning along with Ziad Karbouli, a former top aide to the deceased leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, according to the Jordanian Information Ministry and state television.
ISIS is not just fighting Jordan, but is battling against "noble Islam," Abdullah said in a televised statement on Tuesday, CNN reported.
"The brave pilot gave his life defending his faith, country and nation and joined other Jordanian martyrs who gave their lives for Jordan," Abdullah said, describing ISIS as a cowardly and deviant group that has nothing to do with Islam.
Last week, the Jordanian government had offered to release al-Rishawi in exchange for pilot Lt. Muath al-Kasasbeh, but the deal fell through when ISIS failed to prove that the pilot was alive. Additionally, instead of agreeing to al-Kasasbeh's freedom, the terror group offered to release Japanese hostage Kenji Goto in exchange for al-Rishawi.
But on Tuesday, the terrorist organization released a video which showed al-Kasasbeh, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, standing in an outdoor cage with a line of fuel leading to him, which upon being ignited, caused him to burst into flames, USA Today reported. The pilot's death comes just days after ISIS uploaded another video showing what appeared to be the decapitated head of journalist Goto.
The gruesome footage of al-Kasasbeh's death prompted outrage and fury across Jordan, according to ABC News.
"Our punishment and revenge will be as huge as the loss of the Jordanians," a spokesperson for Jordanian armed forces said on state television, adding that the military believed al-Kasasbeh was actually killed in early January, well before the "negotiations" with ISIS took place.
"Those criminals cannot be compared to Moath," said al-Kasasbeh's father, Safi, referring to the prisoners' execution. "Moath's blood is much more valued than these two prisoners."
