Female US hostage 'killed during Jordanian air strikes targeting Islamic State in Syria'

 
Air strikes: Jordan's military has targeted Raqqa after the killing of one of the country's pilots (Picture: Reuters)
Standard Reporter6 February 2015

A female American hostage has been killed in Jordanian air strikes in Syria, the Islamic State group is reported to have claimed.

The group said the woman was killed during Muslim prayers during air strikes on Raqqa - the main IS stronghold - that targeted "the same location for more than an hour".

It published photos allegedly of the bombed site, showing a damaged three-storey building.

American officials said they were looking into the report. The White House did not have immediate comment.

The purported IS statement, which appeared on a website commonly used by the militant group, could not be independently verified.

Earlier today in the Jordanian capital of Amman, thousands of people - including Queen Rania - marched in support of King Abdullah II after noon prayers. The crowd unfurled a large Jordanian flag and held up banners in support of the king's pledge of a tough military response to the IS killing of Jordanian pilot Lieutenant Moaz al Kasasbeh.

"We all stand united with the Hashemite leadership in facing terrorism," one banner read.

Meanwhile, a prominent jihadi preacher lashed out against IS for burning to death Lt al Kasasbeh, saying it was "not acceptable in any religion".

Abu Mohammed al-Maqdesi, considered a spiritual mentor for many al Qaida militants, spoke a day after being released from more than three months in detention in Jordan.

His release and harsh criticism of IS come at a time when the Jordanian government is trying to win broad popular backing for intensified air strikes against the militants in response to the killing of the pilot.

Earlier this week, IS militants released a video showing the pilot being burned to death in a cage.

In an interview with Jordanian TV station Roya, al-Maqdesi said that such an act "is not acceptable by any religion and by anyone".

The cleric indicated he had been involved in back-channel talks to arrange a possible prisoner swap to win the release of the pilot, who was captured after his plane crashed over Syria in December.

Jordan offered last week to swap an al Qaida prisoner for the pilot, but said after the release of the video that it became clear that the pilot had already been killed in early January.

Al-Maqdesi said the militants were never serious about arranging a swap.

"During my communication, they lied and they were evasive," he said. "They acted like they were interested (in a swap), but in fact they were not interested."

He also criticised IS for declaring a caliphate last year in the areas under its control in Syria and Iraq. Al-Maqdesi said a caliphate, or state run according to Islamic law, is meant to bring Muslims together, but that the militants have been a divisive force.

A decade ago, al-Maqdesi was considered a mentor of the al Qaida branch in Iraq, a precursor to the Islamic State group. However, the cleric fell out with his proteges over their methods, including attacks on fellow Muslims.

Jordan arrested the cleric in October after he criticised Jordan's participation in a US-led military coalition against IS. Jordan, which borders Syria and Iraq, joined the coalition in September.

In the wake of the killing of the pilot, Jordan said it would intensify its attacks. Dozens of fighter jets struck IS weapons depots and training areas yesterday, the military said.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in