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 has 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.”
