When ISIS burned a Jordanian pilot to death, it gave his country new resolve in its fight against terrorism. On Friday, after prayers, Jordanians took to the streets to condemn ISIS.
A day earlier, as Lt. Moath al-Kasasbeh’s family mourned him as a family man, his country rallied around him as a martyr, and King Abdullah paid a visit to the slain pilot’s father.
He embraced Safi al-Kasasbeh and promised vengeance for his son’s death. He delivered it the same day in the form of airstrikes on ISIS’ claimed capital of Raqqa in Syria.
Thirty Jordanian warplanes destroyed terrorist training camps and weapons depots, Jordan’s military said Thursday.
Their operation was called “Moath the Martyr,” named after the deceased pilot.
Military beats war drums
Public war drum rhetoric accompanied the jets’ roar.
“This is just the beginning, and you shall know who the Jordanians are,” the armed forces said in a statement on state TV.
Retaliation for the pilot’s cruel killing was just getting started, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told CNN. And it was being added to the fight against terrorism.
“We are upping the ante. We’re going after them wherever they are, with everything that we have,” Judeh said. He vowed to destroy ISIS.
ISIS photographs destruction
Jordan is one of a handful of Middle Eastern nations taking part in the U.S.-led military coalition against ISIS. The air campaign continued Thursday with strikes elsewhere in Syria, including near Hasaka, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Raqqa.
ISIS posted photos of the destruction, and Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdurrahman reported that 10 militants were killed.
Jordan executed prisoners
Jordan has also retaliated at home. On Wednesday, the country executed two prisoners close to ISIS:
• Sajida al-Rishawi was a would-be suicide bomber whose release ISIS had previously demanded in exchange for al-Kasasbeh and another hostage.
• Ziad Karbouli was a former top aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the deceased leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, an ISIS forerunner.