(MENAFN- QNA) US President Barack Obama has slammed Islamic State (IS) as a terror group only interested in "death and destruction" and said the US-led coalition would redouble its efforts against it.
President Obama said the ideology of the militant group was "bankrupt". He said the murder of Jordanian Air Force pilot Moaz Al Kasasbeh would "redouble the vigilance and determination... to make sure they are degraded and ultimately defeated".
Obama said the video showing the burning of the pilot, if authenticated, would be another sign of the "viciousness and barbarity" of the militant group.
"Whatever ideology, it is bankrupt," Obama told reporters. He added that the video would redouble the determination of the US-led coalition fighting the group in Syria and Iraq.
Jordan's King Abdullah cut his visit to the US short, following news of Lt Kasasbeh's killing. In a statement he said that the pilot had died defending his beliefs, homeland and nation.
"Today we stand shoulder to shoulder with the family of the martyr hero Moaz, with our people and our armed forces in this tragedy," he added.
"At these difficult times it is every Jordanian's duty to stand together in the face of crises and ordeals, which will only make us stronger."
UK's Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the pilot's murder as "sickening" and said it would "strengthen our resolve" to defeat IS.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today said he was deeply angry over the "outrageous" killing of a Jordanian pilot, and repeated Japan's resolve not to give in to terrorism.
"I feel an intense sense of anger and outrage upon hearing that the Jordanian pilot was horrifically burned to death," Abe said in parliament.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, fresh from a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, vowed to keep up the fight against the Islamic State.
"Our support for the Arab coalition united against this terrorist organization will not rest until IS can no longer threaten the region and their lies and deceptions are clear to all," he said in a statement.
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