Update | Jordan executes two Islamist prisoners after Islamic State video of hostage pilot’s death
Female would-be suicide bomber, al-Qaeda killer hanged in response to horrific murder as king vows to take the battle to Islamic State
Jordan yesterday executed two death-row Iraqi jihadis, including a woman, after vowing to avenge the burning alive of one of its fighter pilots by Islamic State.
Would-be suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi and al-Qaeda member Ziad al-Karboli were hanged before dawn at a prison south of the capital, the government said.
Jordan had promised to begin executing Islamic extremists on death row in response to the murder of Maaz al-Kassasbeh, who was captured by Islamic State when his plane went down in Syria in December.
Jordan's King Abdullah cut short a visit to Washington after a gruesome video of the killing emerged, describing Kassasbeh as a hero and vowing to take the battle to Islamic State.
"The blood of martyr Maaz al-Kassasbeh will not be in vain and the response of Jordan and its army after what happened to our dear son will be severe," Abdullah said in a statement released by the royal court. He vowed the war against Islamic State would be "relentless".