The past few days have rocked the Middle East, reaching a breaking point for tensions that have been steadily building up since late last year.
In December, a 27-year-old pilot in the Royal Jordanian Air Force, Lt. Moath al-Kasasbeh, was forced to eject from his F-16 fighter jet when it crash landed in territory controlled by ISIS. He was participating in U.S.-led airstrikes near the Islamic State’s capital, Raqqa, a fact that was not overlooked by his captors. The terror group soon posted images on social media picturing multiple armed gunmen dragging a soaked al-Kasasbeh from a river and in an “interview” published by the Islamic State in its online magazine Dabiq, the lieutenant reported that his plane had been shot down by a “heat-seeking missile”, which goes directly against reports published by the U.S. Central Command, as well as the Jordanian government.
In the weeks following the crash, ISIS would go on to capture a pair of Japanese citizens by the names of Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto. Though Yukawa was soon executed after a $200 million ransom failed to materialize, Goto was kept alive as a hostage, one whose fate was tied to al-Kasasbeh. In a series of messages aimed at the Japanese and Jordanian governments, ISIS declared that it would exchange either or both hostages for Sajida al-Rishawi, a convicted terrorist who had participated in what many call Jordan’s version of 9/11: a string of suicide bombings in 2005 that killed 57 people across three Jordanian hotels.
However, neither of the two governments took the bait, and in response, ISIS beheaded Goto in much the same way it had James Foley and its other Western captives. Accompanying this gruesome video was yet another, this one depicting a caged al-Kasasbeh being drenched in oil and burned alive. Before considering any negotiations, the Jordanian government had repeatedly demanded that the airman’s captors release proof that he was alive. Watching the video, government officials concluded that the lieutenant’s death had been filmed weeks before Goto’s video—ISIS had been playing the Jordanian government false.
The country was quick to respond, promptly executing al-Rishawi and Ziad Karbouli—another convicted terrorist—the next day. It would go on to bomb ISIS training centers, ammunition depots, and other strategic positions in Syria in an air mission that was named “Moath the Martyr”. Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh stated, “We’re going after them wherever they are, with everything that we have.”
Another spokesman for the government, Mohammed al-Momani, stated, “We will not let this crime of killing our pilots with the horrific way it was done pass without punishment.”
The killing even prompted Jordan’s Middle Eastern neighbors in the UAE to recommit to the U.S.-led coalition effort. As of now, Jordan, the UAE, and only a handful of Middle Eastern nations are actively fighting this looming terror threat, but in the words of Jordan’s Interior Minister, Hussein al-Majali, this is “the beginning of a continued process to eliminate [ISIS] and wipe them out completely.”
Brian Chekal is the Editor-in-Chief of Pulse Magazine.