Jordan Steps Up Role In Coalition Against IS

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Jordan is stepping up its role in the US-led coalition against Islamic State – in an attempt to "undermine, degrade and eventually finish" the terror organisation which murdered one of its pilots.

King Abdullah has cut short a visit to Washington in order to fly home, as protesters in Amman demand revenge for the killing of Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh, who burned alive in a cage by IS militants.

The country executed two prisoners after the video was published online.

One of them was the Iraqi would-be suicide bomber Sajida al Rishawi, who Jordan had offered to release if Al Kassasbeh was returned safely.

But there was no forthcoming proof that the hostage was still alive, and the Jordanian military now believes that he was killed on 3 January.

Safi, the pilot's father, said he "considers Mu'ath a martyr to God", and called on the Jordanian government "to take revenge for Mu'ath's blood".

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Gallery: Everything We Know About Sajida Al Rishawi

Sajida Al Rishawi, believed to be in her 40s, was known as the 'would-be bomber'. She was executed in Jordan following the murder by IS of Jordanian pilot Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh

She and her husband were involved in the 2005 Amman bombings, a plot to attack a string of Jordanian hotels

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Sixty people were killed and 115 injured after other suicide bombers targeted three hotels. Al-Rishawi's device, which was packed with ball bearings, failed to detonate

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She and her husband targeted a wedding party at the Radisson SAS hotel - the fathers of the bride and the groom were both killed

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In 2005 Al-Rishawi released a televised confession while in Jordanian custody. She was sentenced to death and lost an appeal against the conviction in 2007

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He added: "The blood of Mu'ath is this country's blood. The country has to take its revenge, and I call for no one to remain alive from Islamic State, I call for revenge by executing prisoners, and I call to erase the (Islamic State) organisation."

There has been widespread condemnation of the fighter pilot's death, with Saudi Arabia's new King Salman describing his murder as "inhuman and contrary to Islam".

Meanwhile, an Egyptian university revered by Sunni Muslims around the world has expressed "deep anger over the lowly terrorist act".

Since news of his death emerged, #IAmMuath has been trending on Twitter, with protesters chanting the slogan outside King Abdullah's palace in Amman.

Mr Al Kassasbeh was captured by the militants in December when his F-16 crashed near Raqqa, Syria, the de facto capital of the Islamic State group's self-styled caliphate.

The 26-year-old's murder appeared to be aimed at pressuring the government of Jordan - a close US ally - to leave the coalition that has carried out months of airstrikes on IS positions in Syria and Iraq.

But observers say the extremists' brutality against a fellow Muslim could backfire and galvanise other Sunni Muslims in the region against them.

In a speech on Jordanian state television, King Abdullah has urged his countrymen to unite.

"It's the duty of all of us to stand united and show the real values of Jordanians in the face of these hardships," the monarch said from Washington.

In a statement before a meeting King Abdullah, US President Barack 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".

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Maju Takgentar