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Jordan executes Rishawi after ISIS kill pilot

February 4, 2015 at 9:56 am

Jordanian security forces [Twitter]

Jordanian authorities executed two Iraqi Al-Qaeda prisoners, including Sajida Al-Rishawi, in the early hours of this morning, hours after the killing of a Jordanian pilot by the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group.

In a statement, the interior ministry said that Al-Rishawi and her compatriot Ziyad Al-Karbouli who had both been on the death row for years after being convicted of terror charges – were hanged in the early hours of this morning.

The move came shortly after an online video showed Jordanian pilot Muaz Al-Kaseasbeh being burnt alive by ISIS militant. ISIS had repeatedly demanded Al-Rishawi’s release in exchange for preserving the life of the Jordanian pilot. Al-Rishawi, an Iraqi, was sentenced to death in 2006 following a spate of deadly hotel bombings in Amman.

Al-Karbouli, a top aide to former Al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, was also hanged in line with a 2007 death sentence after he was found guilty of terror charges, the release said.

“The executions were carried out against the [two] criminals in the attendance of the officials concerned and in line with the law,” the statement carried by state-run Petra news agency said.

Sources said earlier that Jordanian authorities had moved several Al-Qaeda prisoners to Swaqa Prison, an execution facility in southern Amman, shortly after the Jordanian government confirmed Al-Kaseasbeh’s death.

Al-Kaseasbeh was captured by ISIS after his fighter plane crashed in the Syrian city of Raqqa last December. Jordanian authorities had tried to secure the pilot’s release, but ISIS initially made his release conditional on the release of Al-Rishawi.