Jordan to Execute Isil Prisoner Immediately In Response to Pilot Burned Alive by Jihadists

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Sajida al-Rishawi and other Isil jihadists will be executed at dawn in response to murder of Jordanian hostage pilot Lt Moaz Kasaesbeh


Jordan on Tuesday night announced it would execute a female failed suicide bomber and other jihadists in retaliation for the killing of its hostage pilot, Lt Moaz Kasaesbeh, after pictures were posted of him being burned alive.

Officials reacted furiously to the pictures and film, which went beyond anything yet seen in the "execution videos" of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

They were particularly angry as the unusual method of death seemed to confirm reports that he had been killed several weeks ago. There had been rumours in early January that he had been burned, and officials said last night they now believed he died on January 3.

That made a mockery of Isil's demands last week that the woman suicide bomber, Sajida al-Rishawi, be released in return for Lt Kasaesbeh's safety, as well as the release of Kenji Goto, the Japanese journalist.

That deal fell through after the jihadists were unable to provide Jordan with proof of life of the pilot, and Mr Goto's killing was confirmed on Saturday night. » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Editor | Tuesday, February 03, 2015

Isis Video Shows Jordanian Hostage Being Burned to Death

THE GUARDIAN: Jordanian government vows ‘punishment and revenge’ after pilot Muadh al-Kasasbeh was set alight while locked in a cage


The Jordanian government has vowed “punishment and revenge” against Islamic State after the jihadi group released a video showing a Jordanian pilot they were holding hostage being burned to death inside a locked cage.

Displaying a level of brutality shocking even by the standards of the group’s previous killings, the murder of First Lieutenant Muadh al-Kasasbeh is likely to heighten tensions further in Jordan, a key Arab member of US-led coalition against Isis. The kingdom has rounded up scores of jihadist sympathisers since the summer.

Jordan responded immediately by scheduling for Wednesday the executions of five convicted terrorists, including the failed suicide bomber whom the group had wanted to trade. Sajida al-Rishawi, whom Isis had wanted to swap for Japanese journalist, Kenji Goto, was one of five death row inmates moved to a prison where executions are carried out. The group was transferred to Wastaqa prison within hours of the video being uploaded.

In a short televised address, Jordan’s King Abdullah II called Kasasbeh’s killing an act of “cowardly terror by a criminal group that has no relation to Islam ... It’s the duty of all citizens to stand together”. Abdullah cut short a visit to the United States to return home after the video was released, but the White House said he would meet Barack Obama before he left. » | Martin Chulov in Beirut and Shiv Malik in London | Tuesday, February 03, 2015

Jordanian Pilot 'Burned Alive' in New Isil Video

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Video showing death of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasaesbeh, held prisoner by Islamic State jihadists, released now but he may have been killed a month ago


Isil jihadists have released a video that shows the Jordanian pilot they have been holding hostage being burned alive.

Moaz al-Kasaesbeh, a pilot in the Jordanian air force, was captured by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on December 24.

His death, if confirmed, marks the failure of a proposed prisoner exchange for a woman failed suicide bomber being held in Jordan. Known social media feeds of Isil members also posted photographs of the event.

In it, Lt Kasaesbeh is standing in a cage, with a line of armed and masked jihadists looking on.

A trail of flames is then lit around him, and eventually he is burned too.

Throughout, he stands erect and apparently defiant.

The Jordanian authorities, working on the assumption that the photographs were real, informed his family of his death this afternoon. » | Andrew Marszal, and Richard Spencer | Tuesday, February 03, 2015

ISIS Threatens Obama, Japanese and Jordanian Hostages in New Online Messages

FOX NEWS: A new, grisly beheading video from ISIS includes a direct threat against President Obama and is one of at least three new warnings from the terror organization, including pledges to kill Jordanian and Japanese hostages if a hostage held by Jordan is not freed.

In a new online video discovered by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) on Tuesday, three Islamic State fighters stand behind a kneeling Kurdish fighter as one of the extremists launches into a diatribe against the U.S. and other Western nations.

“Know, oh Obama, that will reach America,” says one of the fighters, clad in black and wearing a balaclava, in a translation from Arabic provided by MEMRI. “Know also that we will cut off your head in the White House, and transform America into a Muslim Province.”

The extremist also issued warnings to European nations.

“And this is my message to France and to its sister, Belgium,” he said. “We advise you that we will come to you with car bombs and explosive charges, and will cut off your heads.” » | FoxNews.com | Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Jordanian MP: I Hate the Jews, I Hate the Jews, I Hate the Jews. They Are Worthy of Hatred

Jordanian MP Rudaina Ati: "The PA Must Not Defend the Interests of the Filthy Jews"

Jordanian Christian Kills Daughter for Converting to Islam

WORLD BULLETIN: The woman was killed by her father on Wednesday a short time after she converted to Islam when she attended a lecture by prominent Saudi preacher Mohamed al-Arefe at the Jordanian University in Amman.

Scores of Jordanians on Thursday tried to break into a church in the northern Ajloun province in protest against the reported killing of a local girl by her Christian father on the background of her recent conversion to Islam, a Jordanian security source said. » | World Bulletin / News Desk | Friday, May 02, 2014

Jordan Showcases Late King's Car Collection

Museum in Amman offers glimpse into country's history through King Hussein's car collection display.

Possible Strike On Syria Scares Jordanians

Amid talks of a military strike against the Assad regime, people in neighbouring Jordan grow more concerned.

Abu Qatada's Family Follow Him Out of Britain

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The family of radical preacher Abu Qatada have left Britain for good after finally dropping their marathon battle to stay in the country.

His wife and five children left their taxpayer funded home in north-west London and were driven to Heathrow Airport by officials from the Home Office just after lunchtime.

They then boarded the 5.05pm American Airlines flight to Amman, where Qatada is currently awaiting trial of terrorism charges.

The family’s departure signals a victory for the Home Office, which successfully secured Qatada’s deportation from Britain last month, following a decade long legal battle, which is estimated to have cost the taxpayer in excess of £3 million.

A spokesman for the Home Office confirmed that the family had left and said they had also abandoned their bid to be granted the right to live here permanently.

The spokesman said: “Abu Qatada’s wife and five children have now left the UK. The family has formally agreed to stop an outstanding application for indefinite leave to remain.” » | Martin Evans, Crime Correspondent | Thursday, August 15, 2013

2am Sunday: The Time We Finally Boot Out Abu Qatada

EXPRESS: A MASSIVE security operation will swing into action when a jet carrying hate preacher Abu Qatada out of Britain touches down in the Jordanian desert

Qatada, 53, is due finally to be put on a plane at RAF Northolt in west London around 2am on Sunday.

It will carry British officials and Jordanians who will take charge of the Islamic fundamentalist when it lands at an isolated airstrip.

Qatada, who faces terrorism charges in his home country, is expected to be taken to the maximum security Muwaqqar prison in a military zone near the capital Amman.

Once inside the jail he will be put in solitary confinement until Jordan’s authorities are ready to quiz him about his alleged involvement in two bomb plots in the late 1990s. The father-of-five was found guilty in his absence of terror offences and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1999. » | Friday, July 05, 2013

Qatada Agrees to Leave UK
A controversial Muslim cleric says he'll leave the UK voluntarily, if the Jordanian government agrees to give him a fair trial there.

Abu Qatada Will Leave Britain
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Abu Qatada, the Islamist cleric, will voluntarily return to Jordan if a new treaty on the use of evidence obtained by torture is ratified by the Jordanian parliament, a tribunal was told today.

His co-operation was announced by his barrister, Edward Fitzgerald QC, at the beginning of an immigration hearing to decide whether Qatada can be released from prison.

The Government has been trying to deport him to Jordan, where he was convicted of terror charges in his absence in 1999, for nearly eight years. » | Agencies | Friday, May 10, 2013

Qatada 'Should Be Behind Bars' Theresa May Makes Deal with Jordan to Deport Hate Cleric
EXPRESS: THERESA MAY has revealed a new treaty with Jordan might make it possible for Britain to finally be rid of Abu Qatada, as Downing Street confirmed it is considering a temporary withdrawal from the European Convention of Human Rights.


In a statement in the House of Commons today the Home Secretary argued she has not been defeated yet – depsite successive governments having sought the deportation of Qatada since 2001.

A new treaty signed by the UK and Jordanian governments will "finally make possible" the deportation of Qatada, Mrs May said today.

However, Mrs May warned the House of Commons that even when the new treaty is fully ratified, it will not mean that terror suspect Qatada will be "on a plane to Jordan within days" as he will still be able to appeal against any new decisions.

The new agreement includes guarantees that will provide the UK courts with assurances that Qatada will not face evidence that might have been obtained by torture in a re-trial in Jordan, Mrs May said.

In a sign of how desperate the Governement has become to remove Qatada, Number 10 also revealed today that Britain may even withdraw from the European Convention of Human Rights temporarily. » | Charlotte Meredith | Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Saudi Arabia Backs Push to Carve Out Liberated Southern Syria
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saudi Arabia is backing a push by Syrian opposition rebels to carve out a "liberated" area in southern Syria, opening a key route of attack on Damascus.

The Kingdom is working with American intelligence officials in Jordan to help build a strong rebel force in southern Syria that can fight to seize control of Damascus, and offer a 'west friendly' counterweight to the proliferating hardline Islamist rebel groups, high level Syrian opposition sources and eyewitnesses have told the Daily Telegraph.

"Saudi Arabia is supporting groups here that are not religious extremists.

Americans are supervising the flow of arms and the Saudis pay for them," said a rebel who called himself Ahmed Masri speaking to the Daily Telegraph from the southern city of Deraa.

Saudi Arabia is also said to be supporting a US-led programme to train Syrian rebel fighters in Jordan. A well-placed opposition lobbyist based in Jordan told the Daily Telegraph that "the Americans are doing the training, but Saudi is paying the money for it".

Those receiving training are mainly moderate Sunni Muslim tribesmen from central and southern Syria, many of whom have served in the Syrian army.

Many are chosen by local opposition military councils established in southern Syria.

"They are asking us to take part in a 15-day training programme," said one Syrian fighter in Jordan speaking on the condition of anonymity. » | Ruth Sherlock, Magdy Samaan and Suha Maayeh in Amman | Friday, April 05, 2013

Syria Says Jordan 'Playing with Fire' over Assistance to Rebels
THE GUARDIAN: Jordan tightens security along Syrian border as tensions soar amid reports of arms shipments to anti-Assad forces

Jordan is facing mounting tension with neighbouring Syria amid signs that it has moved to a more active role in support of the rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad's government.

The border between the countries was reinforced on the Jordanian side on Thursday after Syrian state media warned the western-backed kingdom it was "playing with fire" and poised "on the edge of a volcano" by backing the opposition.

Recent weeks have seen a spate of reports about arms shipments from Jordan to anti-Assad rebels who have been making gains around Deraa, the Syrian city closest to the border. Opposition sources say the military situation reflects enhanced supplies and training.

Barack Obama discussed the crisis with King Abdullah II in Amman on his Middle East tour last month. Jordan was the only Arab state the US president visited – an indication of the pressure the king is under to be more supportive of the Gulf-driven effort to drive Assad from power. » | Ian Black, Middle East editor | Friday, April 05, 2013

Middle East Will Be Unstable for Decades If Rebels Win in Syria, Says Assad
THE GUARDIAN: Syrian leader warns of domino effect and accuses Arab neighbours of sheltering rebels who seek to overthrow him


The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, has warned that the Middle East faces being destabilised for decades if rebel forces battling to overthrow him succeed.

Assad, locked in a two-year conflict he says has been fuelled by his regional enemies, also criticised Turkey's "foolish and immature" leaders and accused Arab neighbours of arming and sheltering rebel fighters.

"If the unrest in Syria leads to the partitioning of the country, or if the terrorist forces take control … the situation will inevitably spill over into neighbouring countries and create a domino effect throughout the Middle East and beyond," he said in an interview with Turkish television.

Turmoil would spread "east, west, north and south. This will lead to a state of instability for years and maybe decades to come," Assad said in the interview, posted by the Syrian presidency on the internet. » | Staff and agencies | Saturday, April 06, 2013

Jordan's Democracy Experiment Appears to Fail
The Prime Minister of Jordan has spent three weeks consulting members of parliament, on who to include in his new cabinet.

Hate Preacher Abu Qatada Told He Can Stay in Britain as Theresa May Loses Appeal against Ruling that He Cannot Be Deported
MAIL ONLINE: Court of Appeal rejects latest attempt by Home Secretary to have Qatada sent back to Jordan / Released from jail in February last year under strict bail conditions / Returned to prison this month for breaching rules / Received over £500,000 in legal aid in ten-year battle with Government

Home Secretary Theresa May today lost her appeal court challenge to finally kick radical preacher Abu Qatada out of the UK.

In a major blow to the government's hopes of ever removing the radical hate preacher, the Court of Appeal ruled that he can stay in Britain.

Mrs May insisted 'this is not the end of the road' and will make another legal challenge against the ruling of judges in November that Qatada could not be deported to Jordan to face justice over alleged terror offences.

Qatada is said to have wide and high-level support among extremists, and featured in hate sermons found on videos in the flat of one of the September 11 bombers.

Mrs May's legal team argued at a recent one-day hearing in London that Qatada was a 'truly dangerous' individual who escaped deportation through 'errors of law'. Read on and comment » | Matt Chorley, MailOnline Political Editor | Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Prince Charles and Camilla Welcomed to Royal Palace in Jordan
Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall met King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan at the Royal Palace in Amman on Tuesday on the second day of their Middle East tour.