Jordan demands proof IS captured pilot still alive
Jordan on Thursday demanded proof from Islamic State
militants that a Jordanian pilot they are holding was still alive, despite
purported threats by the group to kill the airman at sunset unless an al-Qaida prisoner
is freed from death row in Jordan.
The militants' deadline passed without word on the fate of
the pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, or his fellow hostage, Japanese journalist
Kenji Goto, reports AP.
The Jordanian government spokesman said Thursday afternoon
that the death row prisoner, Sajida al-Rishawi, remained in Jordan.
Jordan, a staunch U.S. ally in the region, has faced
difficult choices in the hostage drama. Any swap with the Islamic State group
would run counter to its tough approach toward Islamic extremists, but it also
faces domestic pressure to bring home the pilot.
Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani said
Thursday the Islamic State group has not offered proof that the pilot is still
alive and that this is holding up any swap.
"We want to see a proof of life of the Jordanian pilot
and then we can talk about the exchange between Sajida al-Rishawi and the
Jordanian pilot," he said Thursday afternoon.
The militants have purportedly threatened to kill
al-Kaseasbeh by sundown, Iraq time unless Jordan frees al-Rishawi, an Iraqi
woman, and delivers her to the Turkish border. Al-Rishawi has close family ties
to the al-Qaida branch in Iraq, a forerunner of the Islamic State group, and
was involved in deadly Amman hotel bombings by al-Qaida a decade ago.
The purported audio threat to kill the pilot was read in
English by a voice the Japanese government said was likely that of Goto. It was
released online late Wednesday after Jordan offered in principle to swap
al-Rishawi for the pilot. It wasn't clear what Goto's fate would be if the
woman isn't released.
The Associated Press could not independently verify the
contents of the recording, which was distributed on Twitter by Islamic State-affiliated
accounts.
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