Jordan vows to do 'everything' to save life of ISIS-held pilot
Kingdom says 'will do everything it can to save the life and secure the release of its pilot', as military agencies make constant checks for proof of life.
Jordan vowed Sunday to do all it could to save an airman held by ISIS after the jihadis killed a Japanese journalist they had been holding.
The kingdom "will do everything it can to save the life and secure the release of its pilot," Maaz al-Kassasbeh, who was captured by the jihadis after his plane crashed in Syria in December, government spokesman Mohammad al-Momeni told the official Petra news agency.
ISIS has been demanding the release of a convicted Iraqi jihadi on death row in Jordan in exchange for Kassasbeh's life, a demand the government has expressed readiness to accept provided it is given proof he is still alive.
"All state organizations have been mobilized to secure the proof of life that we require so that he can be freed and returned to his home," Momeni said.
He condemned the jihadis' murder of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto after days of intensive efforts through intermediaries to save him.
"We spared no effort, in coordination with the Japanese government, to save his life," Momeni said.
Jordan further said it was still ready to hand over a jailed Iraqi militant to Islamic State in a swap deal if the pilot was released even after the killing of the second Japanese hostage ."We are still ready to hand over the convict Sajida al-Rishawi in return for the return of our son and our hero," Momani further said.
Goto was the second Japanese hostage in a week to be executed by the jihadis in what they have said is punishment for Tokyo's pledge of $200 million (175 million euro) in aid to countries affected by its bloody seizure of swathes of Iraq and Syria last year.
Last week, ISIS claimed responsibility for the beheading of Haruna Yukawa after the expiration of a 72-hour ultimatum.
ISIS has demanded the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, who was sentenced to death for her role in the 2005 bombings of three Amman hotels by Al-Qaeda in Iraq which killed 60 people.
Her husband was one of the three suicide bombers and the court found that she had would have been a fourth but for the failure of her detonator.
Reuters contributed to this report.
