Jordan Vows “Everything” to Save Life of ISIL-held Pilot

Jordan vowed Sunday to do all it could to save an airman held by the ISIL terrorist group after the militants killed a Japanese journalist they had been holding.Pilot

Safi Kassasbeh, the father of pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh, denounced the killing of Kenji Goto and told AFP the Jordanian “government is responsible” for his son’s fate. “Maaz is our son and a son of the military, and the government is responsible for him,” said Safi Kassasbeh, who in previous days had urged authorities to seek his release “at any price”.

Government spokesman Mohammed al-Momeni pledged that Jordan would “do everything it can to save the life and secure the release” of Kassasbeh, who was captured by ISIL after his plane crashed in Syria in December.

ISIL has been demanding the release of a convicted Iraqi terrorist on death row in Jordan in exchange for Kassasbeh’s life, a demand the government has expressed readiness to accept provided it is given proof he is still alive.

“All state organizations have been mobilized to secure the proof of life that we require so that he can be freed and returned to his home,” Momeni told the official Petra news agency.
“We spared no effort, in coordination with the Japanese government, to save his life,” Momeni said.