Jordan pledges to ‘eradicate’ IS

AMMAN: Jordan vowed further retaliation against the Islamic State group for the burning alive of one of its pilots, as thousands rallied in Amman Friday in solidarity with his grieving family.
The Jordanian military said “dozens of jet fighters” struck IS targets on Thursday, hitting militant training camps as well as weapons and ammunition depots.
Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told CNN the operation was “the beginning of our retaliation over this horrific and brutal murder of our brave young pilot.”
IS earlier released a highly choreographed video of the horrifying murder of pilot Maaz Al-Kasaasbeh, whose death has sparked grief and deep anger in Jordan.
Judeh refused to reveal Jordan’s military plans but said it would hit the militants with all its might.
“We’re upping the ante. We’re going after them wherever they are, with everything that we have,” he said. “We will eradicate them... We are at the forefront. This is our fight.”
American F-16 and F-22 jets provided security to the Jordanian fighter planes, with additional support from refueling tankers and surveillance aircraft, US officials said.
Thousands marched in the capital on Friday in a show of solidarity for the murdered pilot.
Protesters gathered after weekly prayers at the Al-Husseini mosque in central Amman, waving Jordanian flags and pictures of Kasaasbeh.
“We are all Maaz... We are all Jordan,” the crowd chanted.
Placards were also held aloft that read: “Yes to punishment. Yes to the eradication of terrorism.”
The UAE government daily Al-Ittihad said Friday that Abu Dhabi was concerned over the coalition’s failure to arm Sunni tribes in Iraq, which are helping government forces and other militia to battle IS in the western Anbar province.
“Neither airstrikes nor a media war are sufficient to defeat” IS, the paper said.
On Thursday, the US military said it was deploying search and rescue planes to northern Iraq in a move designed to shorten the response time needed to reach pilots who end up in IS-held territory.