Muath Al-Kasasbeh

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Muath Al-Kasasbeh
معاذ صافي يوسف الكساسبة
Birth nameMuath Safi Yousef Al-Kasasbeh
Born(1988-05-29)May 29, 1988[1]
Karak, Jordan
DiedJanuary 3, 2015(2015-01-03) (aged 26)
Syria
Allegiance Jordan
Service/branchRoyal Jordanian Air Force
RankFirst Lieutenant

Muath Safi Yousef Al-Kasasbeh (Arabic: معاذ صافي يوسف الكساسبة; May 29, 1988 – January 3, 2015)[2] was a Jordanian pilot. He was imprisoned and burnt alive by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Al-Kasasbeh was a First Lieutenant in the Royal Jordanian Air Force. The plane he was piloting, an F-16 fighter jet, crashed after mechanical problems on December 24, 2014, though Islamic State claimed it shot his aircraft down.[3] He was captured by Islamic State militants near Raqqa, Syria.

He was threatened with execution, but there were negotiations to release him. However, Islamic State decapitated his co-prisoner, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, and subsequently burned Al-Kasasbeh to death while he was locked in a cage.[4]

References[change | change source]

  1. Heather Saul and Kashmira Gander (December 24, 2014). "Isis 'did not shoot down Jordan war plane' before capturing pilot, says US". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved January 3, 2015. RMC later posted a photograph of the Jordanian military identity card of the pilot identifying him as Mu'ath Safi Yousef al-Kaseasbeh who was born on May 29, 1988.
  2. Shiv Malik. "Isis video shows Jordanian hostage being burned to death". the Guardian.
  3. "BBC News - Profile: IS-held Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh". BBC News.
  4. "Jordan committed to anti-IS coalition, despite hostage drama". Yahoo News. 1 February 2015.