Jordan has executed
two convicts, including a female jihadist, following the killing of one of its
air force pilots by Islamic State (IS) militants.
The woman, failed
suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi, and al-Qaeda operative Ziyad Karboli - both
Iraqi nationals - were hanged at dawn, officials said.
The executions came
hours after IS posted a video appearing to show pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh being
burned alive.
He was seized after
crashing during an anti-IS mission over Syria in December.
Jordan had attempted
to secure Lt Kasasbeh's release in a swap involving Rishawi.
She had been on death
row for her role in attacks in Jordan's capital, Amman, which killed 60 people
in 2005.
Karboli was convicted
in 2008 for killing a Jordanian national.
'Punishment
and revenge'
The two prisoners were
executed at 04:00 local time (02:00 GMT), government spokesman Mohammad
al-Momani said on Wednesday morning.
Jordan earlier vowed
an "earth-shattering" response after IS posted a video online showing
what militants say is the pilot standing in a cage engulfed in flames.
Mamdouh al-Ameri, a
spokesman for the Jordanian armed forces, said on Tuesday that Lt Kasasbeh had
"fallen as a martyr".
"His blood will
not be shed in vain. Our punishment and revenge will be as huge as the loss of
the Jordanians."
Jordanian state TV
reported that Lt Kasasbeh was killed a month ago.
Jordan, which is part
of the US-led coalition against IS, had tried to secure Lt Kasasbeh's release
as part of a prisoner swap, offering to free Rishawi in exchange.
But IS had sought her
release as part of a deal to free captive Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. A
video that appeared to show Goto's dead body was posted online four days ago.
Analysis:
Jonathan Marcus, BBC diplomatic correspondent
One thing is clear
from this video - Islamic State never had any intention of releasing the young
Jordanian pilot. According to Jordanian state media he was killed on 3 January,
well before the supposed prisoner exchange talks moved into high gear.
The cynical
manipulation of this episode by IS shows the importance it affords to
information warfare - here an attempt to create problems for the Jordanian
authorities and to weaken the Arab-Western coalition, at a time when it appears
to be struggling to make dramatic headway against IS on the ground.
This is the problem
for the coalition. Its air campaign is in many ways a stop-gap intended to halt
the progress of IS, but requiring effective troops on the ground to
significantly turn back its advance.
The BBC's security
correspondent, Frank Gardner, says the latest video is aimed at a world already
shocked by the calculated cruelty of Islamic State's actions.
Jordan's King Abdullah
hailed Lt Kasasbeh as a hero, saying Jordan must "stand united" in
the face of hardship.
The king decided to
cut short a visit to the US after news of the pilot's death, but he met
President Barack Obama on Tuesday evening before flying home.
Many in Jordan have
questioned its role in the air strikes against IS but the two leaders sought to
reaffirm their joint resolve to destroy the group.
Mr Obama earlier said
that if the video was real, it would be "one more indication of the
viciousness and barbarity" of IS.
"I think it will
redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of the global coalition to
make sure they are degraded and ultimately defeated," Mr Obama said.
Timeline:
Jordanian pilot held hostage
24 December 2014: Jordanian Lt Moaz Youssef al-Kasasbeh
captured by IS after his plane crashes
25 December 2014: Pilot's father urges IS to show mercy
20 January 2015: IS threatens to kill two Japanese hostages
unless Japan pays $200m ransom within 72 hours
24 January: IS releases video of Japanese hostage Kenji
Goto holding a picture apparently showing Haruna Yukawa's decapitated body
24 January: IS calls for release of Sajida
al-Rishawi, an Iraqi militant sentenced to death in Jordan
28 January: Jordan offers to release Rishawi in exchange
for Lt Kasasbeh
29 January: Deadline to kill Lt Kasasbeh and Mr Goto
expires
31 January: Video released appearing to show Kenji
Goto's body
3 February: Video released appearing to show Lt Kasasbeh
burnt alive, with Jordanian media suggesting he was killed weeks earlier
source, bbc news
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