Several Arabic-language newspapers reported late Wednesday that the monarch would personally participate in bombing raids on the terrorist group, citing his vow Tuesday to “strike them in their strongholds.”
Jordan’s King Abdullah ibn al-Hussein, who has trained as a pilot, may fly a bomber himself on Thursday in the country’s retaliation against the ISIS.
The king was in Washington when news broke Tuesday of pilot Muadh al-Kasasbeh’s demise at the hands of ISIS extremists. Meeting with the House Armed Services Committee shortly before leaving for Amman, he reportedly quoted the Clint Eastwood’s film “Unforgiven” and said that Jordan would pursue the jihadis until it ran “out of fuel and bullets.”
Rep. Duncan Hunter, who was in the meeting, told Fox News that given the ruler’s immediate and vehement reaction, “King Abdullah is not President Obama.”
Jordan, which has been a key American ally in the air war against ISIS, killed a number of ISIS-affiliated prisoners early Wednesday, as it had promised should Kasasbeh turn out to be dead, prior to the news of his immolation. Some have warned that the terrorist group deliberately deployed news of Kasasbeh’s fate in order to provoke a Jordanian overreaction. But public outcry in Jordan before and after the news seems to have pressured the government into a strong response, regardless of strategy. (RELATED: Jordan To Retaliate For Pilot Killed By ISIS)
Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that “nothing’s going to change” in U.S. policy toward ISIS as a result of Kasasbeh’s murder.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/04/jordans-king-may-participate-personally-in-isis-raids/