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[h=4]Pilot's father calls for Jordan to avenge son's slaying[/h]The father of Jordanian fighter pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh called on the government Wednesday to avenge his son's murder by Islamic State militants, and for the U.S.-led coalition to "eradicate this criminal organization."
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Jordan says it executed two al-Qaida prisoners on Wednesday. Ambulances carried their bodies from a prison. This was hours after Islamic State militants released a video purportedly showing a captured Jordanian pilot being burned alive in a cage. AP
Safi al-Kaseasbeh, father of Jordanian pilot Lt. Mu'ath al-Kaseasbeh.(Photo: Raad Adayleh, AP)
The father of Jordanian fighter pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh called on the government Wednesday to avenge his son's murder by Islamic State militants, and for the U.S.-led coalition to "eradicate this criminal organization."
Jordan executed Iraqi prisoners Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziad al-Karbouli before dawn Wednesday, hours after Islamic State militants released a gruesome video that purportedly showed al-Kaseasbeh, 26, being burned alive in a cage.
Jordan vowed a swift and lethal response. Al-Rishawi was on death row for her role in a triple hotel bombing in the Jordanian capital Amman in 2005 that killed dozens. Al-Rishawi and al-Karbouli were both linked to al-Qaeda.
In an interview with Al Arabiya News Channel, Safi al-Kaseasbeh, the pilot's father, said: "I ask that this should not end with Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziad Karboulia and urge the government, I expect the government to seek revenge, severe revenge for the blood of (Muath) against this horrid organization, this criminal organization, this organization that is far from Islam and the spirit of Islam."
"The pain is deep," he told the broadcaster. "My son isn't just the son of Safi al-Kaseasbeh; he is the son of every Jordanian. Grief is now in the hearts of every Jordanian mother and every Jordanian father."
USA TODAY
Jordan executes two in response to pilot's slaying
He called on the U.S.-led coalition to launch "painful strikes to eradicate this criminal organization."
Jordanians on Wednesday were shocked over the brutality of the killing.
"There is no religion accepts such act," Amman resident Hassan Abu Ali said on Wednesday, speaking to the Associated Press. "Islam is a religion of tolerance. (The Islamic State group) have nothing to do with Islam. This is criminal act."
Jordan's King Abdullah II cut short his visit to the United States on Tuesday following al-Kaseasbeh's death.
Safi al-Kaseasbeh, center, father of slain Jordanian pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh is escorted by relatives while receiving condolences in front of the Kaseasbeh tribe's gathering divan at their home village of Ai, near Karak, Jordan, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Nasser Nasser, AP)
"The brave pilot gave his life defending his faith, country and nation and joined other Jordanian martyrs who gave their lives for Jordan," the king said in a televised statement.
"We stand today with the family of the hero martyr Muath, and with our people and our armed forces in this adversity."
The gruesome video came after a week-long drama over a possible prisoner exchange by Jordan to win the release of al-Kaseasbeh. Japanese nationals Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa were murdered by the Islamic State late last month.
Jordanian TV reported that al-Kaseasbeh's killing took place Jan. 3, raising questions about the negotiations for the pilot's freedom. Jordan agreed last week to release al-Rishawi, but first wanted proof the pilot was alive.
"The Jordanian response to the assassination of the hero pilot, Muath al-Kaseasbeh, will be strong, decisive and swift," government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani said before the latest two executions were announced.
Army spokesman Mamdouh al-Ameri added, "Our punishment and revenge will be as huge as the loss of the Jordanians."
President Obama earlier said the video, if authentic, was more evidence of the group's "viciousness and barbarity" and called the group's ideology "bankrupt."
"And it, I think, will redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of a global coalition to make sure that they are degraded and ultimately defeated," Obama said.
Al-Kaseasbeh was captured by the Islamic State — also known as ISIL or ISIS — in December after his aircraft crashed over Syria. He is the first, and so far only, foreign military pilot to be captured since a U.S.-led coalition began airstrikes on the militants last year.
The video marks the first time a high-profile hostage of the Islamic State has been killed by fire, according to IntelCenter, which monitors extremist websites. In the past, hostages have been beheaded or shot.
"It shows how the group is continually evolving its methods to gain the maximum exposure for its actions," IntelCenter said in a statement.
Contributing: Jim Michaels in Washington.
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