Jordan to execute female would-be bomber Wednesday: Official
Obama decries 'cowardice, depravity' of Islamic State
Jordan’s King Abdullah II vowed an "earth-shattering response" as he cut short a visit to Washington to fly home. PHOTO: AFP
AMMAN/UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON:
Reacting swiftly after the Islamic State group released a video showing Jordanian pilot Lt Maaz al-Kassasbeh being burned alive, Jordan said it will on Wednesday execute a woman on death row over a failed bombing.
"The sentence of death pending on... Iraqi Sajida al-Rishawi will be carried out at dawn," a security official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Rishawi, the Iraqi would-be suicide bomber, was condemned to death for her participation in deadly attacks in Amman in 2005, and IS had offered to spare the life of the Jordanian fighter pilot, Lieutenant Maaz al-Kassasbeh, if she were released.
The decision to execute Rishawi came as Jordan’s King Abdullah II vowed an "earth-shattering response" as he cut short a visit to Washington to fly home.
Obama decries 'cowardice, depravity' of Islamic State
US President Barack Obama decried the "cowardice and depravity" of the Islamic State on Tuesday, saying the apparent burning alive of a Jordanian pilot would only strengthen international resolve to destroy the extremists.
Obama said First Lieutenant Maaz al-Kassasbeh's "dedication, courage and service to his country" represented "universal human values that stand in opposition to the cowardice and depravity of ISIL."
"Today, we join the people of Jordan in grieving the loss of one of their own," the president added, as his administration reaffirmed its intention to give Jordan $3 billion in security aid over the next three years.
"As we grieve together, we must stand united, respectful of his sacrifice to defeat this scourge," Obama said after the latest in a wave of grizzly filmed murders.
Obama also offered his condolences to King Abdullah II, who is currently in Washington and who met Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry. The US President is also expected to meet with the Jordanian King later on Tuesday.
US Central Command meanwhile admitted that the Islamic State still had the ability "to conduct small-scale operations," despite months of air strikes.
But, it said, "their capacity to do so is degraded and their momentum is stalling."
UN chief decries 'appalling' IS killing of Jordan pilot
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday condemned the apparent burning alive of a Jordanian pilot by Islamic State militants, calling it an "appalling act."
Ban labeled the Islamic State group "a terrorist organization with no regard for human life" and urged world governments to redouble their efforts to "combat the scourge of terrorism and extremism," according to his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Reacting swiftly after the Islamic State group released a video showing Jordanian pilot Lt Maaz al-Kassasbeh being burned alive, Jordan said it will on Wednesday execute a woman on death row over a failed bombing.
"The sentence of death pending on... Iraqi Sajida al-Rishawi will be carried out at dawn," a security official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Rishawi, the Iraqi would-be suicide bomber, was condemned to death for her participation in deadly attacks in Amman in 2005, and IS had offered to spare the life of the Jordanian fighter pilot, Lieutenant Maaz al-Kassasbeh, if she were released.
The decision to execute Rishawi came as Jordan’s King Abdullah II vowed an "earth-shattering response" as he cut short a visit to Washington to fly home.
Obama decries 'cowardice, depravity' of Islamic State
US President Barack Obama decried the "cowardice and depravity" of the Islamic State on Tuesday, saying the apparent burning alive of a Jordanian pilot would only strengthen international resolve to destroy the extremists.
Obama said First Lieutenant Maaz al-Kassasbeh's "dedication, courage and service to his country" represented "universal human values that stand in opposition to the cowardice and depravity of ISIL."
"Today, we join the people of Jordan in grieving the loss of one of their own," the president added, as his administration reaffirmed its intention to give Jordan $3 billion in security aid over the next three years.
"As we grieve together, we must stand united, respectful of his sacrifice to defeat this scourge," Obama said after the latest in a wave of grizzly filmed murders.
Obama also offered his condolences to King Abdullah II, who is currently in Washington and who met Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry. The US President is also expected to meet with the Jordanian King later on Tuesday.
US Central Command meanwhile admitted that the Islamic State still had the ability "to conduct small-scale operations," despite months of air strikes.
But, it said, "their capacity to do so is degraded and their momentum is stalling."
UN chief decries 'appalling' IS killing of Jordan pilot
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday condemned the apparent burning alive of a Jordanian pilot by Islamic State militants, calling it an "appalling act."
Ban labeled the Islamic State group "a terrorist organization with no regard for human life" and urged world governments to redouble their efforts to "combat the scourge of terrorism and extremism," according to his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.