Jordan Hits Islamic State With Airstrikes As King Visits Family Of Pilot Burned Alive
After Jordanian warplanes carried out airstrikes Thursday against the Islamic State in Syria, the fighter jets returned to perform a teeth-rattling “victory lap” above this farm town that has been cloaked in grief.
Soon after Jordan’s King Abdullah II arrived here to offer his condolences to the family of Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, a pilot slain by the Islamic State, the jet fighters streaked overhead. Their arrival was good theater or good timing, or both.
The message was delivered. Abdullah pointed to the sky, touched his heart and leaned in to speak privately to the father of the airman, who was shown being burned alive in a cage in video released Tuesday.
As the roar subsided, the mourners cheered, “Long live his majesty the king!” Local youths stood and told Abdullah that they wanted to join his army and die as martyrs, too.
That was the mood here less than 48 hours after Jordan was shocked by the macabre video, which showed the captured Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot writhing in mortal agony after Islamic State militants doused him with a liquid and set him on fire.
Source: www.washingtonpost.com