Daesh publishes ‘interview’ with pilot

Beirut: Daesh has published what it says is an interview with a Jordanian pilot it captured after his plane crashed in Syria last week.

In the comments attributed to the pilot, he says his plane was hit by a heat-seeking missile, endorsing the militant group’s version of events, which has been rejected by both Jordan and the United States.

The purported interview published by the Daesh online English-language magazine Dabiq on Monday is accompanied by photographs of First Lieutenant Mu’ath Al Kassasbeh, 26.

In it, he is quoted as discussing how the air strikes in Syria are coordinated between the countries of the US-led coalition.

He says his role was to destroy anti-aircraft weapons on the ground and to provide cover for the strike aircraft.

Al Kassasbeh was captured by Daesh on December 24 after his F-16 jet crashed while on a mission against the militants over northern Syria.

His father, Safi Al Kassasbeh, has urged Daesh to show “mercy” and treat his son as a “guest”.

The crash was the first warplane from the US-led coalition lost in combat since air strikes on Daesh began in Syria in September, and marked a major propaganda victory for the group.