(MENAFN- The Peninsula) King Abdullah II vowed Jordan will take tough action after hanging two convicted militants yesterday in response to the burning alive of one of its pilots by the Islamic State (IS) group.
The gruesome murder of airman Maaz Al Kassasbeh triggered international condemnation and prompted Jordan to execute two Iraqis on death row - female would-be suicide bomber Sajida Al Rishawi and Al Qaeda operative Ziad Al Karboli.
Abdullah cut short a visit to the United States and flew back to Amman, where he was greeted by large crowds at the airport before meeting with his security chiefs.
"The blood of martyr Maaz Al Kassasbeh will not be in vain and the response of Jordan and its army after what happened to our dear son will be severe," he said afterwards, quoted by the royal court.
Speaking to AFP, Information Minister Mohammad Al Momani said the kingdom was "more determined than ever to fight the terrorist group Daesh," using an Arabic acronym for IS.
The statements came after Jordan said it hanged Rishawi and Karboli before dawn at a prison south of the capital.
The gruesome murder of airman Maaz Al Kassasbeh triggered condemnation from governments across the Middle East, while a top Muslim body called for the killing or crucifixion of IS militants.
Amman had promised to begin executing Islamic extremists in response to the murder of Kassasbeh, who was captured by IS when his plane went down in Syria in December.
Rishawi, 44, was sentenced to death for her participation in triple hotel bombings in Amman in 2005 that killed 60 people.
IS had offered to spare Kassasbeh's life and free Japanese journalist Kenji Goto - who was later beheaded - if she were released. The new video - the most brutal yet in a series of recorded killings of hostages by IS - prompted global revulsion and vows of unwavering international efforts to combat the Sunni Muslim extremist group.
The killing sparked outrage in Jordan and demonstrations in Amman and the city of Karak, the home of Kassasbeh's influential tribe.
Egypt's Al Azhar, Sunni Islam's most prestigious seat of learning, called for the "killing, crucifixion or chopping of the limbs" of IS militants, expressing outrage over their "cowardly act".
The pre-dawn hangings, which were criticised by rights campaigners, came just weeks after Jordan ended an eight-year moratorium on the death penalty.
Executions should not be used "as a tool for revenge," Amnesty International said.
"The IS's gruesome tactics must not be allowed to fuel a bloody cycle of reprisal executions."
Rishawi was closely linked to IS's predecessor organisation in Iraq and seen as an important symbol for the militants.
Karboli was sentenced to death in 2007 on terrorism charges, including the killing of a Jordanian in Iraq.
Jordan, a crucial ally of Washington in the Middle East, is one of several Arab countries that have joined a US-led coalition carrying out air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq.
Jordan promised to avenge the pilot's murder, with a spokesman saying: "Jordan's response will be earth-shattering."
US President Barack Obama, who hosted King Abdullah in a hastily organised Oval Office meeting, led condemnation of the airman's killing, decrying the "cowardice and depravity" of IS.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the brutality of IS was "beyond comprehension".
"It has nothing to do with our religion."
The Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars, headed by influential preacher Yusuf Al Qaradawi, described the murder as "a crime contrary to Shariah" (Islamic law).
Kassasbeh was captured in December when his jet crashed over northern Syria on a mission that was part of the coalition air campaign against the jihadists.
Jordanian state television suggested he was killed on January 3, before IS offered to spare his life and free Goto in return for Rishawi's release.
The highly choreographed 22-minute video released on Tuesday shows Kassasbeh recounting coalition operations against IS, with flags from the Western and Arab nations in the alliance projected in the background. It then shows Kassasbeh dressed in an orange jumpsuit and surrounded by armed and masked IS fighters.
It cuts to him standing inside a cage and apparently soaked in petrol before a masked jihadist lights a trail of flame that runs to the cage and burns him alive.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman of Saudi Arabia called the killing "inhuman and contrary to Islam".
His country, the spiritual home of Islam and another member of the coalition, condemned the "misguided ideology" behind Kassasbeh's murder and accused groups like IS of seeking "to distort the values of Islam".
The UAE said the actions of IS "represent epidemics that must be eradicated by civilised societies without delay".
IS had previously beheaded two US journalists, an American aid worker and two British aid workers in similar videos.
IS has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq and last year declared a "caliphate" in areas under its control, imposing its brutal interpretation of Islam and committing widespread atrocities.
In the Syrian border town of Kobane, Kurdish fighters who recently drove out IS with help from coalition air strikes held a minute's silence for Kassasbeh.
"He is one of Kobane's martyrs," said activist Mustafa Ebdi.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.