Bahrain to help Jordan fight ISIS militants

Middle East, News February 10, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

The Bahraini monarch says Manama is ready to help Jordan fight ISIS militants, several days after the immolation of a Jordanian pilot held hostage by the terrorist group.

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa told his Jordanian counterpart King Abdullah II that he was “proud to provide all the help Jordan needs to combat terrorism” and fight ISIS, a statement by the royal palace in Amman said Monday.

The statement added that the talks between the two monarchs in the Jordanian capital focused on military cooperation between the two Arab countries, especially their air forces.

On February 3, ISIS released a video online showing the ISIS terrorists burning alive Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kassasbeh who had been taken hostage in December 2014.

The video showed Kassasbeh dressed in an orange jumpsuit and surrounded by flames inside a metal cage.

The pilot was captured by ISIS militants last December when his plane went down in northern Syria, during a mission against the terrorist group.

Following the release of the video, Jordan vowed “punishment and revenge” for the killing of the 26-year-old pilot. Amman executed two ISIS-linked militants just hours after the video emerged.

Amman has also vowed to intensify its airstrikes against ISIS strongholds.

Jordan said on Sunday that its army jet fighters carried out 56 retaliatory airstrikes in three consecutive days against the strongholds of ISIS militants in northern Syria.

“We achieved what we aimed at. We destroyed logistics centers, arms depots and targeted hideouts” of the militants, said General Mansour al-Jbour, the chief of the Jordanian air force.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deployed a squadron of F-16 warplanes in Jordan to support Amman’s airstrikes against ISIS militants.

Several Arab countries, including Jordan, are taking part in the US-led military coalition that has purportedly been targeting ISIS positions in Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate.

AR/GHN/HMV