A still image released by the Islamic State group's branch in Raqqa on jihadist websites on Dec. 24, 2014, purportedly shows a Jordanian pilot captured by the group's fighters after they shot down a warplane from the U.S.-led coalition with an anti-aircraft missile near Raqqa city.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
Islamic State militants shot down a Jordanian warplane and captured a pilot in the first such incident since an international coalition began an air campaign against the militants in Syria in September.
"Jordan holds the group and its supporters responsible for the safety of the pilot and his life," Jordan's armed forces said in a statement.
It was not immediately clear how Islamic State militants were able to bring down the plane, but the group has captured vast stocks of weaponry from Syrian and Iraqi armed forces.
The capture of a pilot could amount to a major propaganda coup for the Islamic State, but analysts said they did not believe the capture would shake the resolve of Jordan, which is participating along with other Arab nations in the coalition air campaign over Syria.
"It is not easy to turn away because one pilot is shot down," said Mustafa Alani, a security analyst at the Gulf Research Center based in Geneva. He said Jordan's participation in the coalition faces almost no internal opposition.
Jordan is one of several Arab countries participating in airstrikes in Syria. Others include Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the aircraft was shot down near the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the group's de facto capital. The group said the plane was shot down by either by a Russian-made anti-aircraft missile or by heavy machinegun fire.
The Raqqa Media Center, which covers areas under Islamic State control in Raqqa, published a photograph said to be of the pilot, who appeared wearing a white shirt as he was surrounded by 11 fighters, some of them masked.
Another photo showed the man — naked from the waist down and soaking wet — being captured by three gunmen as he was taken out of what appeared to be a lake.
The group also posted a photo of the pilot's military identification card, which identified the man as Mu'ath Safi Yousef al-Kaseasbeh. Al-Kaseasbeh's cousin in Jordan confirmed to the Associated Press that the photos were of his relative.
Islamic State fighters are searching the area in case there is a second pilot, the Raqqa Media Center reported.
Contributing: Associated Press
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