Jordanian officials confirmed ISIS has killed the captive pilot and said this had happened on Jan. 3, state television reported.
[WATCH THE HORRIFIC VIDEO HERE, WARNING GRAPHIC]
In a televised statement, Jordan’s armed forces vowed to avenge the killing of the pilot.
“The blood of the martyr will not have been shed in vain and… vengeance will be proportional to this catastrophe that has struck all Jordanians,” said army spokesman General Mamduh al-Amiri.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s King Abdullah cut a visit to Washington following the news of the pilot’s killing.
“His Majesty the King, the supreme commander of the armed forces, has cut his visit to the United States after the news of the martyrdom of the hero pilot,” state television said.
The White House said the U.S. intelligence community was working to authenticate the video and it condemned the militant group.
President Barack Obama said that if the video purporting to show the burning alive of a Jordanian pilot is authenticated, it just shows the organization’s “barbarity.”
“Should in fact this video be authentic, it’s just one more indication of the viciousness (and) barbarity of this organization,” Obama said, adding it would “redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of the global coalition to make sure” the ISIS group is “ultimately defeated.”
Earlier, the White House issued a statement saying: “The United States strongly condemns ISIL’s actions and we call for the immediate release of all those held captive by ISIL.”
“We stand in solidarity with the Government of Jordan and the Jordanian people,” White House spokeswoman Bernadette Meeha said.
The general leading the U.S.-led war against ISIS denounced the “savage” execution of the Jordanian pilot.
“U.S. Central Command strongly condemns ISIL’s savage murder” of Kasasbeh and “will fight this barbaric enemy until it is defeated,” General Lloyd Austin, head of the U.S. Central Command, said in a statement.
ISIS had demanded the Jordanian government release Sajida al-Rishawi, a prisoner on death row for terror-related crimes, as part of a swap deal for the release of Kasasbeh. But Amman insisted on proof that the pilot was alive before any exchange.
Following the pilot’s horrific killing, a security official told AFP that Jordan will execute the female would-be bomber on Wednesday.
