Amman: Jordan vowed Thursday to make every effort to save a pilot captured by Daesh in Syria as Washington denied claims the militants shot his warplane out of the sky.
Muath Al Kasaesbeh, a 26-year-old first lieutenant in the Jordanian air force, was captured by Daesh on Wednesday after his F-16 jet crashed while on a mission against the militants over northern Syria.
It was the first warplane lost and the first capture of a serviceman since the coalition launched strikes against Daesh in Syria in September.
It was also a major propaganda victory for Daesh, which released several photographs parading the captured pilot.
“The Jordanian government... is making all efforts with several crisis cells to free (the pilot),” government daily Al Rai said in an editorial on Thursday.
“We are confident that our brave one will be released... He has not been forgotten,” it said.
Al Kasaesbeh’s plane went down near the Syrian city of Raqqa, which Daesh has used as its de facto capital and where coalition warplanes have carried out regular strikes.
The militants and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed the plane was brought down by an anti-aircraft missile, raising concerns for other coalition planes flying in the area.
But the US military dismissed the claim, saying “evidence clearly suggests that Daesh did not down the aircraft.”
“We strongly condemn the actions of Daesh, which has taken captive the downed pilot and we will support efforts to ensure his safe recovery,” US Central Command chief General Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed for the pilot’s captors to treat him humanely.
An activist in Raqqa said Daesh militants were divided over the fate of the pilot, with more extremist foreign fighters wanting him executed and others wanting him kept alive.
