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Jordan has released a slickly-edited video that shows its war planes being prepared for bombing strikes against Islamic State jihadists in Syria.
The footage, understood to have been broadcast on state TV, shows troops messages on plane-mounted missiles before the fleet of fighter jets are launched from the base.
The mission – dubbed Operation Martyr Moaz in memory of the pilot brutally killed by ISIS – is the latest show of force from the nation, which has promised a ‘harsh’ war against the terror group.
It comes just hours after Jordanian fighter pilots made a diversion over the hometown of their murdered comrade, Moaz al-Kasasbeh, on their return from an air raid this morning.
Dozens of jets bombed ISIS training centers and weapons storage sites in Syria and struck targets neighbouring Iraq for the first time – intensifying attacks against the militants.
The assault came after Jordan’s King Abdullah II visited the grieving Kasasbeh family in Aya village.
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Airstrike: The slickly-edited video also contains aerial shots that appear to show Jordanian strikes on Islamic State targets. The Royal Jordanian Air Force launched strikes on Syria this morning
Preparation: A woman is seen writing a message in Arabic on a plane-mounted missile before the air assault
Take off: A plane belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force, above, is seen taking off in the latest video
Dozens of Jordanian fighter jets bombed ISIS training centers and weapons storage sites on Thursday. Above, aerial footage from the video released today appears to show a pilot seeking a target
It has now been two days ISIS released a horrific 22-minute long video showing the pilot being burnt alive while locked in a cage.
The act has been widely condemned as among the most sickening ever committed to film and has sent waves of revulsion across the region.
In response, Jordan executed two Iraqi militants connected with ISIS, including Sajida al-Rishawi, the female would-be suicide bomber whose freedom ISIS had originally demanded in exchange for releasing Kasasbeh.
The air strike video, released today on the YouTube channel of a national radio station, is the latest show of strength. It is understood to have been recorded at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base.
The military’s statement, read on state TV, was entitled, ‘This is the beginning and you will get to know the Jordanians’ – an apparent warning to ISIS.
It said the strikes will continue ‘until we eliminate them.’
With its stirring soundtrack and complex editing, the video is similar in style to those released by ISIS, which have been striking in their professional use of camera and editing equipment.
The clip shows uniformed people, believed to be members of the Jordanian military, writing messages in Arabic across plane-mounted missiles. One reads ‘for you, the enemy of Islam’.
Target: This footage is believed to show Jordanian forces bombing Islamic State sites in Syria today
The video also features a pilot holding up a sign that reads: ‘And do not think that God is unaware of what the evildoers are doing’ – an apparent warning to ISIS militants. The message is based on a passage in the Quran
Show of force: A fleet of Jordanian F-16 fighter jets are lined up at a base ahead of air strikes in Syria and Iraq
The video also features a pilot holding up a sign that reads: ‘And do not think that God is unaware of what the evildoers are doing’ – an apparent warning to ISIS militants.
There are aerial shots that appear to show Jordanian forces bombing ISIS training centres and weapon storage sites in Syria.
As part of the new campaign, Jordan is also attacking targets in Iraq, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said. Until now, Jordan had only struck ISIS targets in Syria as part of a U.S.-led military coalition.
‘We said we are going to take this all the way, we are going to go after them wherever they are and we’re doing that,” Judeh told Fox News.
Asked if Jordan was now carrying out attacks in both countries, he said: ‘That’s right. Today more Syria than Iraq, but like I said it’s an ongoing effort.’
He added: ‘They’re in Iraq and they are in Syria and therefore you have to target them wherever they are.’
The militant group controls about one-third of each Syria and Iraq, both neighbors of Jordan.
The Jordanian military said dozens of fighter jets were involved in Thursday’s strikes on training centers and weapons storage sites.
Tribute: A plane belonging to the Jordanian Royal Air Force makes a deliberate diversion over over the home town of the pilot brutally murdered by ISIS after carrying out airstrikes against the terror group in Syria
Visit: Local television showed a sombre-looking King (right) sitting alongside Moaz al-Kasasbeh’s father Saif (left), the Jordanian army chief, and other senior officials in Aya – a village 60 miles south of the capital Amman
Embrace: Jordan’s King Abdullah II hugs Saif al-Kassasbeh, father of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh
The tribute came as Jordan’s King Abdullah II (centre) visited Moaz al-Kasasbeh’s grieving family including his father, Saif (left) – in Aya village and one day after he vowed to wage a ‘harsh’ war against the militants
Tribe members of slain Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh receive mourners at the memorial tent set up for the murdered pilot in his home village of Aya near Karak in Jordan this morning
Looking for revenge: The Jordanian fighter jets carried out new air strikes a day after King Abdullah (left) vowed to wage a ‘harsh’ war against Islamic State militants who control parts of neighboring Syria and Iraq
Earlier today, war planes roared overhead as the King paid a condolence visit to the tribal family of the pilot in his village in southern Jordan.
State television showed a sombre-looking King sitting alongside the army chief and senior officials while visiting Aya, a village 60 miles south of the capital Amman.
Thousands of Jordanians flocked to pay respects in traditional Arab Bedouin style in a part of the country where influential tribes form an important pillar of the Hashemite rule, supplying the army and security forces with its manpower.
At one point the King pointed out the aircraft as he sat next to the victim’s father, Saif al-Kasasbeh.
‘You are a wise monarch. These criminals violated the rules of war in Islam and they have no humanity. Even humanity disowns them,’ he told the King.
The Jordanian fighter jets carried out new air strikes a day after King Abdullah vowed to wage a ‘harsh’ war against Islamic State militants who control parts of neighboring Syria and Iraq.
The army statement did not say which country was targeted.
King Abdullah visits family of Jordanian pilot killed by ISIS
Condolences: Local television showed the King (right) sitting alongside Moaz al-Kasasbeh’s father Saif (left)
Jordan’s King Abdullah II embraces Fahed al-Kasasbeh, the uncle of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh
Brutal: This morning’s show of force came two days after ISIS released a horrific 22-minute long video showing the pilot being burnt alive while locked in a cage
Distraught: The pilot’s father surrounded by family members and security forces during a mourning ceremony in the city of Karak, Jordan, on Thursday
Uncompromising language: King Abdullah II has said Jordan’s response ‘will be harsh because this terrorist organisation is not only fighting us, but also fighting Islam and its pure values’
Activists carry pictures of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kassasbeh in Amman earlier this week
Jordanian king calls killing of pilot an ‘act of cowardice’
Jordan is part of a U.S.-led military coalition that has bombed IS targets in both countries since the autumn, but until now Jordanian warplanes are only known to have carried out raids in Syria.
King Abdullah II has said Jordan’s response ‘will be harsh because this terrorist organisation is not only fighting us, but also fighting Islam and its pure values.’
In a statement, he pledged to hit the militants ‘hard in the very centre of their strongholds’.
In Washington, leading members of Congress have called for increased U.S. military assistance to the kingdom.
Currently, the United States provides Jordan with $1 billion a year in economic and military aid.
Not true: False rumours spread online yesterday that King Abdullah II is preparing to personally take part in airstrikes against ISIS. The Royal Hashemite Court’s official Facebook page later shared this image of the King wearing a pilot’s uniform, which some mistakenly took to mean he had carried out an air raid
Clean cut: 26-year-old Moaz al-Kasasbeh is seen wearing his pilot’s uniform before being captured by ISIS
Return home: King Abdullah of Jordan arrives as Jordanians stand along the way between Amman and Queen Alia airport waiting to greet him upon his arrival on Wednesday
Protestors take to the streets of Jordan following ISIS execution
The visit comes after a Jordanian government spokesman denied rumours that the King is preparing to personally take part in airstrikes against ISIS.
In a statement Mohammed al-Momani branded said the reports that the King – who is a trained pilot – will soon conduct raids himself are unfounded and baseless.
Rumours spread online yesterday that the King was considering a combat role in the war after he promised to fight back against ISIS, insisting Kasaesbeh’s death ‘will not be in vain’.
The Royal Hashemite Court’s official Facebook page later shared an image of the King wearing a pilot’s uniform, which some mistakenly – including several Iraqi news outlets – took to mean he had carried out an air raid.
Other social media users then starting sharing old photographs on the King sitting in a plane’s cockpit, suggesting the images were taken on his return from a sortie to Syria.
Before becoming king, Abdullah was a military general who headed the Jordanian special forces.
He is also a fully qualified Cobra Helicopter pilot and in 1980 joined Sandhurst – the British Royal military academy also attended by Prince William and Prince Harry.
Rally: A Jordanian protester kisses a poster bearing the image of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh during a rally to show their loyalty to King Abdullah and against the Islamic State
Jordanians hold up pictures of the King and murdered pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh while chanting slogans during a rally today
Loyalty: Protesters made their support for Jordan’s King Abdullah II clear during a rally in Amman today
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