News Digest

As public cries for vengeance, Jordan talks of wider intervention in Syria

Grief here over the Islamic State’s brutal killing of a Jordanian pilot has given way to calls for war, with Jordanian officials dropping hints of a wider Jordanian effort in Syria. A visit Thursday by King Abdullah II to the mourning tent of the fallen pilot, Lt. Muath Kassasbeh, quickly escalated into a pro-war rally. The sentiments represented a dramatic reversal of what had been growing opposition to participation in the US-led air fight against IS, including among the pilot’s family members, and Jordan has successfully turned rage over the pilot’s graphic death into a rallying cry for even greater military commitment – and sacrifice.

The Islamic State declared war on Jordan, its pilots, and security. We are going to see a military escalation, and the dispatch of ground forces is the next logical step.

Jawad Anani, a Jordanian senator and former foreign minister

On Thursday Jordanian war planes reportedly carried out strikes against IS targets in Syria, then flew over Lt. Kassasbeh’s village after returning to Jordanian air space in what officials described as a “victory lap.” The declaration marked a departure for Jordan, which had up until Thursday refused to detail its role in US-led airstrikes. Jordan’s execution early Wednesday of Al Qaeda in Iraq members Saijda Rishawi and Ziyad Karbouli, both sentenced to death years ago, did little to quell the growing public clamor for vengeance. The pair’s release had been sought by IS in exchange for sparing Kassabeh’s life - though most evidence points to his murder being carried out in early January.