AMMAN: Amman has executed two convicted terrorists in an apparent retaliation following the killing of one of its air force pilots by Islamic State (ISIS) militants. Following the burning in a cage of 26-year-old Lt. Muath Al-Kaseasbeh, the kingdom, had vowed a strong, earth-shaking and decisive response. The pilots gruesome death sparked outrage and anti-Islamic State group demonstrations in Jordan.
Sajida al-Rishawi, the Iraqi woman militant, whose release had been demanded by the Islamic State group, was one of the two hanged to death early this morning. Al-Rishawi was sentenced to death for her role in a 2005 suicide bomb attack that killed 60 people.
Ziad al-Karbouly, an Iraqi al-Qaida operative, who had been convicted in 2008 for killing a Jordanian, was also executed at dawn.
The executions took place at Swaqa prison about 50 miles south of the Jordanian capital of Amman. At the break of dawn, two ambulances escorted by security personnel was driven away carrying the bodies of al-Rishawi and al-Karbouly.
The executions were confirmed by government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani.
The Jordanian military also confirmed the death of 26-year-old Lt. Muath Al-Kaseasbeh, who was captured by the extremists in December when his F-16 crashed near Raqqa, Syria, the de facto capital of the Islamic State groups self-styled caliphate, while he was flying a mission as part of the U.S.-led air campaign against the Islamic State group.
He was the first airman participating in the U.S.-led bombing raids against militant positions in Syria and Iraq to be captured.
The fate of Kasasbeh a member of a large tribe that forms the backbone of support for the countrys Hashemite monarchy had gripped Jordan for weeks. Over the past week, Jordan had offered to trade al-Rishawi, a failed suicide bomber, for the pilot, but froze any swap after failing to receive any proof that the pilot was still alive.
The killing of the pilot outraged Jordanians and drew worldwide condemnation, including from President Barack Obama and the UN Security Council.
Some Jordanians have criticised King Abdullah for embroiling them in the US-led alliance that they say will provoke a militant backlash.
Abdullah has portrayed the campaign against the extremists as a battle over values. In a speech Tuesday night on Jordanian state television, he urged his countrymen to unite.
Its the duty of all of us to stand united and show the real values of Jordanians in the face of these hardships, Abdullah said.
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