Jordanian Pilot Burned Alive By ISIS Dreamed Of Flying Planes When He Was A Boy
As the family of the Jordanian pilot burned alive by ISIS is coming to terms with his horrific demise, details of who this young man was are being revealed by his loved ones.
The world is still in shock at the graphic, inhumane images on the ISIS video that show how the Islamic terrorist group burned the Jordanian pilot alive while he was held in a cage, like an animal. As unimaginable as his death was, his family is talking about the man their son was.
A member of a prominent Jordanian tribe — extremely loyal to the royal family, according to Sky News — Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh was one of eight siblings, a devout Muslim, and recently married. As a boy he dreamed of being a pilot and after graduating from school, enrolled in flying school.
“Since his childhood, he wanted to be a pilot,” one of his brothers, Jawdat, told the Associated Press.
Before ISIS killed him by burning him alive, the Jordanian pilot graduated in 2009, and joined the Royal Jordanian Air Force, where he flew F-16s and other warplanes. He was quickly promoted to the rank of lieutenant.
Just last year, Al-Kaseasbeh married Anwar Tarawneh, a young woman who lived in a village next to his hometown of Ay. Jawdat al-Kaseasbeh says he was close to his four sisters and three brothers, as well as his parents who had been pleading for King Abdullah to do something to free their son from his ISIS captors. Last year, he went on a pilgrimage with his parents to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city in Islam.
The Jordanian pilot was captured when his plane crashed in December while on a mission with the U.S.-led coalition against the ISIS near Raqqa, Syria, considered the capital of the Islamic State group. Under the orders of President Obama, the allies have been bombing ISIS strongholds in an effort to halt the terror group’s advance in the region.
In a propaganda video, the Jordanian pilot said that his F-16 was shot down by a missile.
“I landed in the River Euphrates by parachute and the seat caught on some ground, keeping me fixed, until I was captured by soldiers of Islamic State,” Al-Kaseasbeh added in the clip.
In a chilling conclusion of the “interview” for the video, a terrorist asks him “Do you know what the Islamic State will do with you?” to which he replied, “Yes. They will kill me.”
Nobody could have imagined that the Jordanian pilot would be burned alive, as most of the hostages held by ISIS have been beheaded. However, some analysts speculate that killing the man in this manner is a message that they are sending him to hell for daring to fight them.
[Image via Twitter]
