Friday 6 February 2015

Islamic State crisis: Thousands Rally in Jordan

Thousands have rallied in Jordan's capital, Amman, in support of their government's military response to the killing of a Jordanian fighter pilot by Islamic State (IS) militants. Among those marching was Jordan's first lady, Queen Rania, who told the BBC the country was "united in our horror".

Jordan says its warplanes carried out dozens of air strikes on IS targets on Thursday in response to the killing.

The country's foreign minister said it was "upping the ante" against IS.

Until now, Arab states have only been involved in a fraction of the US-led air campaign against the militants.

The focus of Jordan's air strikes is reported to be Raqqa, the IS stronghold in Syria. Local activists and IS sympathisers reported fresh strikes in the city on Friday, but these have not been confirmed by officials. 'This is our war'

On Friday morning, crowds gathered outside the capital's al-Husseini mosque after weekly prayers, waving Jordanian flags and pictures of the murdered pilot, Moaz al-Kasasbeh.

Some held placards that read: "Yes to punishment. Yes to the eradication of terrorism", the AFP news agency reported.

Queen Rania said Lt Kasasbeh's killing had made Jordanians "determined to rid the world of this evil".

Some internal critics have criticised Jordanian involvement, but she said: "This is absolutely Jordan's war, it is every Muslim's war... We can't win this war alone but it is absolutely our war."

Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said Thursday's strikes were "the beginning of our retaliation" against IS.

A video of Lt Kasasbeh, 26, being burned alive in a cage was posted online by IS earlier this week.

He was captured by the militants in December after his F-16 fighter jet crashed in Syria. The video is believed to have been filmed on 3 January.

Jordan had previously only bombed IS sites in Syria, but Mr Judeh said it was now also targeting IS in Iraq. (BBC)

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