War
on Terror
Jordanian pilot captured by ISIS after jet downed over
Syria
Published time:
December 24, 2014 10:35
Edited time: December 24, 2014 13:27
Edited time: December 24, 2014 13:27
JJordanian F-16s (Image from wikipedia.org)ordanian F-16s (Image from wikipedia.org)
Militants from the so-called Islamic State
(IS) have captured a Jordanian jet pilot, whose warplane was reportedly shot
down over the jihadists’ stronghold in the eastern Syrian province of Raqqa.
A series of pictures showing cheering
gunmen carrying a young and apparently battered man wearing nothing but a white
shirt have surfaced online in the wake of the crash.
The man is allegedly a Jordanian Air Force
pilot, Muadh Yusuf. IS claims to have shot his plane down with an anti-aircraft
missile. If confirmed, it would be the first coalition fighter jet to be shot
down by militants in the region following months of airstrikes. Images of the
downed jet have been published on social media.
The plane crash was
first reported by the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Later
on Wednesday, the Jordanian military confirmed one of its pilots
had been captured during coalition airstrikes on IS-held territory. The Jordanian
army told IS it is responsible for the pilot’s wellbeing.
"It is well known
that this organization [IS] does not hide its terrorist schemes, where many of
the criminal acts of destruction and killing [target] innocent Muslims and
non-Muslims in Syria and Iraq. Jordan holds the group and its supporters
responsible for the safety of the pilot and his life," the statement
reads.
Two relatives of the pilot told Reuters
they had been notified by the head of the Jordanian air force about the
incident.
IS is a radical Islamist group seeking to
create a caliphate in predominantly Sunni territories of Iraq and Syria. The
militants have been exterminating residents of those territories belonging to
ethnic and religious minorities who do fit into their vision of the future
state.
Jordan is one of several Arab states which joined the US-led campaign to cripple IS through air strikes and via support of their opponents on the ground, including Kurdish militias and Iraqi army.
On Tuesday, the Observatory reported that at least 1,171 members of IS and the ideologically-aligned Al-Nusra Front had been killed in Arab and international airstrikes since September 23. The Observatory also said that Syrian government airstrikes had killed 20 people in Raqqa province on the same day.
Jordan is one of several Arab states which joined the US-led campaign to cripple IS through air strikes and via support of their opponents on the ground, including Kurdish militias and Iraqi army.
On Tuesday, the Observatory reported that at least 1,171 members of IS and the ideologically-aligned Al-Nusra Front had been killed in Arab and international airstrikes since September 23. The Observatory also said that Syrian government airstrikes had killed 20 people in Raqqa province on the same day.
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