Jordan committed to anti-IS coalition, despite hostage crisis

Jordan remains “as committed as ever” to a U.S.-led military coalition against the Islamic State group, the kingdom’s foreign minister said Sunday, amid heightened fears for the life of a Jordanian fighter pilot held by the militants. Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh spoke a day after another IS hostage, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, was purportedly beheaded by the militants. The fate of the two captives had been linked but a video of Goto’s purported slaying made no mention of pilot Lieutenant Muath al-Kaseasbeh.

Maaz is our son and a son of the military, and the government is responsible for him.

Safi Kassasbeh, who has urged Jordan to secure his son’s release “at any price”

However, Jordan’s participation in airstrikes against fellow Muslims is not popular among Jordanians. The hostage crisis has prompted more vocal criticism of the government’s position, including from the pilot’s family. Experts are divided over whether Jordan faces a greater threat from extremists outside its borders or from those within. In recent months, there have also been signs of greater support for the Islamic State group’s ideas among Jordan’s young and poor.

Middle East Jordan