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Jordan to execute jailed would-be bomber, jihadists
  • | AFP | February 04, 2015 09:54 AM
Jordan will execute Wednesday an Iraqi would-be suicide bomber on death row and other jihadists after having vowed to avenge the murder of a Jordanian pilot by Islamic State jihadists, an official said.
In this Nov. 13, 2005 file photo, Iraqi Sajida al-Rishawi, confesses on Jordanian state run TV about her failed bid to set off an explosives belt inside one of the three Amman hotels targeted by al-Qaida. Al-Rishawi, was sentenced to death. In January 2015, almost a decade later, she has emerged as a potential bargaining chip in negotiations over Japanese hostages held by the Islamic State group, the successor of al-Qaida in Iraq, which orchestrated the Jordan attack. (AP Photo/Jordanian TV, File)
In this Nov. 13, 2005 file photo, Iraqi Sajida al-Rishawi, confesses on Jordanian state run TV about her failed bid to set off an explosives belt inside one of the three Amman hotels targeted by al-Qaida. Al-Rishawi, was sentenced to death. In January 2015, almost a decade later, she has emerged as a potential bargaining chip in negotiations over Japanese hostages held by the Islamic State group, the successor of al-Qaida in Iraq, which orchestrated the Jordan attack.

"The sentence of death pending on... Iraqi Sajida al-Rishawi will be carried out at dawn," the security official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Rishawi, the would-be bomber, was condemned to death for her participation in deadly attacks in Amman in 2005, and IS had offered to spare the life of the Jordanian fighter pilot, Lieutenant Maaz al-Kassasbeh, if she were released.

"The death sentence will be carried out on a group of jihadists, starting with Rishawi, as well as Iraqi Al-Qaeda operative Ziad Karbuli and others who attacked Jordan's interests," the security source said.

"Jordan's response will be earth-shattering," Information Minister Mohammed Momani said earlier on television, while the army and government vowed to avenge the pilot's murder.

"Whoever doubted the unity of the Jordanian people, we will prove them wrong," said Momani, who is also government spokesman.

"The pilot did not belong to a specific tribe or come from a specific governorate, he was the son of all Jordanians, who stand united," he said.

State television also reported that King Abdullah II of Jordan would cut short a visit to Washington and return home in the wake of the pilot's murder.

The king had held talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington on Tuesday before going into a meeting with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill.

One of America's most stalwart allies in the Middle East, Jordan is taking part in US-led air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria along with several other Arab countries.

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