Islamic State shoots down Jordanian warplane in Raqqah, captures pilot

[Valin]

Long War Journal:

Bill Roggio

December 24, 2014

 

The Islamic State released a picture of its fighters and Jordanian pilot First Lieutenant Mu'adh Yusuf al Kasasbeh after shooting down his aircraft over Raqqah in Syria. Image from the Islamic State via the SITE Intelligence Group.

 

 

The Islamic State shot down a Jordanian warplane today as it was conducting operations over the Syrian city of Raqqah, and captured the pilot.

 

The Islamic State's Raqqah division "identified the pilot as First Lieutenant Mu'adh Yusuf al Kasasbeh," a Jordanian, and published photographs of its fighters capturing him in what appears to be a body of water and then marching him away, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which obtained the images. The jihadist group also published photographs of the wreckage of the warplane.

 

The jihadist group said it shot down Kasasbeh's aircraft with an anti-aircraft missile as he was flying a mission over Raqqah, the de facto capital of the Islamic State's self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

 

The Jordan Armed Forces confirmed that one of its warplanes was shot down as it was conducting an operation near Raqqah and that one of its pilots was being held "hostage," The Jordan Times reported. Kasasbeh's family confirmed he was being held by the Islamic State.

(Snip)

 

[nickydog]

That has to be the most miserable man in the world today.

[Valin]

Plane not shot down

 

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but the U.S. military insisted the plane was not shot down.

 

"Evidence clearly indicates that ISIL did not down the aircraft as the terrorist organization is claiming," Central Command said in a statement.

 

U.S. Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, who is overseeing all coalition military operations in Iraq and Syria, condemned the pilot's capture, saying in a statement: "We will support efforts to ensure his safe recovery and will not tolerate ISIL's attempts to misrepresent or exploit this unfortunate aircraft crash for their own purposes."

[Draggingtree]

CENTCOM: ‘Evidence Clearly Indicates’ ISIS Didn’t Shoot Down Jordanian F-16

by BRIDGET JOHNSON December 24, 2014 - 2:36 pm

U.S. Central Command said a Jordanian F-16 that went down on a bombing run over the Islamic State “clearly” wasn’t shot down with a manpad as ISIS has been claiming.

 

raded parts of his downed plane, as well as images of the pilot in a soaked T-shirt and naked from the waist down with blood coming from his mouth.

 

CENTCOM confirmed the plane went down near Raqqa, Syria, and the pilot had been taken captive.

 

“Evidence clearly indicates that ISIL did not down the aircraft as the terrorist organization is claiming,” CENTCOM said in a statement

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2014/12/24/centcom-evidence-clearly-indicates-isis-didnt-shoot-down-jordanian-f-16/

[Draggingtree]

Islam Must Degrade And Destroy Islamic State
By David Singer Full Story

 

 

The impassioned plea by the father of a Jordanian F16 fighter pilot captured by Islamic State has shot down attempts by American President Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to distance Islam from the Islamic State (ISIL).

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/68574