Jordan pounds ISIS positions as air war begins to bite
Jordan has launched 56 airstrikes against ISIS weapons depots, training centers and military barracks since militants released a video of them burning a Jordanian pilot to death, Jordan’s air force chief said Sunday, The Daily Star reported.
Meanwhile, a squadron of F-16 fighter jets from the United Arab Emirates arrived in Jordan. The UAE has said it is sending the warplanes to support the kingdom, and a Jordanian government official has said they would participate in airstrikes on ISIS targets.
Jordanian officials vowed to harshly retaliate for the slaying of the pilot, Lt. Moaz al-Kassasbeh, who was set ablaze while trapped in a cage. Kassasbeh was captured in December when his F-16 warplane went down in Syria.
Air force chief Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Jobour told reporters the kingdom had launched 56 air raids on ISIS since Thursday. “On the first day of the campaign to avenge our airman Lt. Moaz al-Kassasbeh, 19 targets were destroyed, including training camps and equipment,” he said, reading from a prepared text.
Eighteen more targets including ammunition and fuel depots and logistics centers were hit Friday.
Nineteen ISIS targets were destroyed Saturday, including barracks and residential centers.
“So far the campaign has destroyed 20 percent of the fighting capabilities of ISIS,” Jobour said.
“We achieved what we were looking for: revenge for Moaz,” he added. “And this is not the end. This is the beginning.”