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| Jordan willing to swap ISIS hostage for captured pilot |
Worried relatives of a Jordanian fighter pilot held hostage
by the Islamic State have asked their government to be more open about
negotiations for his release.
The family has become more concerned about pilot, Lt. Muath
al-Kaseasbeh, after a second hostage held by ISIS was shown beheaded in a video
purportedly from the militants. The pilot and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto
had been linked together and ISIS made no comment of the fate of Kaseasbeh.
Uncle of the pilot, Yassin Rawashda, said Sunday that “we
want the government to tell us the truth.” He also says the family wants to
know where the negotiations are headed.
The pilot’s father Safi al-Kaseasbeh says any developments
make him more nervous. But he is still putting faith into his government.
Jordan is reportedly conducting indirect, behind-the-scenes
negotiations through tribal leaders in neighboring Iraq. The Islamic State
group holds about a third of Iraq and Syria.
Last week, Jordan offered to swap an Al Qaeda prisoner on
death row for the pilot, but there was no mention of ISIS considering the deal.
A message purportedly from the militant group said that the pilot would be
killed if the prisoner, Sajida al-Rishawi, was not delivered to the Turkish
border by Thursday.
The deadline passed after Jordan refused to release the
prisoner without proof of the pilot being alive.
Al-Kaseasbeh was captured in December when his F-16 crashed
near the de facto capital of the Islamic State group. The militants control
about a third of both Syria and neighboring Iraq in a self-declared caliphate.
Jordan, a staunch Western ally, is part of a U.S.-led
military coalition that has carried out airstrikes against Islamic State group
targets since September.
King Abdullah II says the campaign against the extremists is
a battle over values, but participation in the airstrikes is not popular among
Jordanians. The hostage crisis has prompted more vocal criticism of the
government position.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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