The Islamic State posted a video showing an individual, suspected to be Kaseasbeh, being burned alive.
On Tuesday the Islamic State posted a video online that allegedly showed the death of the Jordanian pilot. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, the Jordanian pilot captured weeks ago by the Islamic State, was confirmed dead by Jordan officials.
The 26-year-old pilot was recently married before being captured. The video shows an individual, purportedly Kaseasbeh, trapped in an outdoor cage. The individual in the film, which the Jordan state media confirms as Kaseasbeh, was doused with flammable liquid and set on fire. ISIS released the 22-minute video on Tuesday, a few days after it posted the video of Japanese Christian journalist Kenji Goto being executed.
“The military forces announce that the hero pilot, Muath al-Kaseasbeh, has fallen as a martyr, and ask God to accept him with the martyrs,” said Mamdouh al-Ameri, spokesperson for the Jordanian armed forces, in a statement.
“While the military forces mourn the martyr, they emphasise his blood will not be shed in vain. Our punishment and revenge will be as huge as the loss of the Jordanians.”
The Islamic State claimed to have downed the Jordanian pilot while he was on one of his bombing paths. U.S. military officials, however, claim that the aircraft was not downed by any action of the Islamic State, but was the result of an aircraft crash.
Though the video was released Tuesday, Jordan confirmed that the death of pilot Kaseasbeh occurred on January 3, long before the release of the video. The Jordan government was in the process of negotiating a trade of prisoners with the Islamic State to secure Kaseasbeh in exchange for a female Iraqi suicide bomber that failed to execute her mission.
The video, though confirmed by the Jordan government, is still not verified by other sources. The United States responded by denouncing the tactics of ISIS. President Obama stated that if the video is verified to be true, then it would bolster the fight against ISIS.
“Whatever ideology they're operating off of, it's bankrupt,” he said.
