Jordan has launched 56 airstrikes against Islamic State group weapons depots, training centres and military barracks since militants released a video of them burning a Jordanian pilot to death, Jordan’s Air Force chief said on Sunday. Jordanian officials have said they would retaliate harshly for the slaying of the pilot, lt Muath al-Kaseasbeh, who was set ablaze while trapped in a cage.
Since Thursday, the Jordanian air force has attacked and destroyed 56 Islamic State targets, the air force chief, Gen Mansour al-Jabour, told reporters. This includes 19 targets on the first day, 18 on the second and 19 on the third, he said. “We achieved what we were looking for: revenge for Muath,” the general said. “And this is not the end. This is the beginning.”