International
Nasser Nasser / AP
The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) published a video on Tuesday that purportedly shows the death by burning of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kassasbeh.
The head of the Jordanian armed forces told the family of the pilot that he was killed, a member of the family said.
The 26-year-old first lieutenant was taken hostage in ISIL's stronghold of Raqqa, Syria, after his F-16 jet crashed in late December. ISIL members claimed to have shot down Kassasbeh's plane with a heat-seeking missile.
If the video is authenticated, it would be the first time that ISIL has killed a hostage by setting him on fire. Previous videos released by the group have shown the beheadings of captives.
In a clip posted online, a man who appears to be Kassasbeh is seen in a black cage before he is set alight. He is wearing orange clothes similar to those worn by other foreign ISIL captives who have been killed since a U.S.-led coalition, of which Jordan is a member, started bombing the group in July.
Jordan's King Abdullah, who was in Washington, D.C., to meet U.S. officials, cut short his visit after receiving news of Kassasbeh's death.
The spokesman for the Jordanian armed forces vowed “punishment and revenge" in a statement read on Jordanian TV, saying "our punishment and revenge will be as huge as the loss of the Jordanians.”
In a statement, the White House said it was working to confirm the authenticity of the video. National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan added, "The United States strongly condemns ISIL’s actions, and we call for the immediate release of all those held captive by ISIL. We stand in solidarity with the government of Jordan and the Jordanian people."
U.S. President Barack Obama said that the video, if real, would serve only to redouble the determination of the U.S.-led alliance to degrade and destroy ISIL. He added it would be another sign of the "viciousness and barbarity" of the group.
"Whatever ideology they're operating off of, it's bankrupt," he told reporters.
ISIL controls swaths of Syria and Iraq, and it had demanded the release of Sajida al-Rishawi — a would-be suicide bomber convicted and serving a prison sentence over a 2005 attack in Amman, Jordan — in exchange for Kassasbeh's life.
Jordan's government had said it was willing to trade Rishawi but wanted proof that Kassasbeh was alive first.
The latest video emerged three days after Japanese journalist Kenji Goto was purportedly beheaded by ISIL fighters. The fate of the two captives had been linked, but a video of Goto's apparent slaying released Saturday made no mention of the pilot.
An audio message last week, also said to be from ISIL, said only that Kassasbeh would be killed if Rishawi was not released by Thursday, without actually proposing a swap.
A scroll on Jordan TV on Tuesday said that Kassasbeh was killed on Jan. 3, raising questions over whether any of the hostage negotiations were sincere.
Al Jazeera and wire services
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