Mideast Unites to Damn ‘Barbaric’ Death of Jordanian Pilot
Activists carry posters with a portrait of the Jordanian pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh, who was captured by Islamic State (IS) group militants on Dec. 24 after his F-16 jet crashed while on a mission against the jihadists over northern Syria, during a rally in the Jordanian capital Amman on Feb. 3, 2015.
Photographer: Khalil Mazeaawi/AFP via Getty ImagesThe burning alive of a Jordanian pilot by Islamic State militants is reverberating around the Middle East, a region that has suffered decades of brutal wars.
Condemnation of the murder of Moath al-Kasassbeh united regional foes Saudi Arabia and Iran. Al-Azhar, the Sunni Muslim world’s leading religious institution, called for the “killing or crucifixion” of Islamic State terrorists. Officials rejected the immolation of a foreign hostage by the group as “barbaric” and “satanic,” and warned similar acts may be to come.