IS captures Jordanian pilot after warplane crashes in Syria

Islamic State (IS) militants have captured the pilot of a Jordanian warplane that crashed in northern Syria, Jordan’s military has confirmed. The jihadist group claimed it had shot down the jet with a heat-seeking missile near the city of Raqqa. It published photographs showing the pilot, who has been named as Flight Lieutenant Moaz Youssef al-Kasasbeh. This is the first US-led coalition aircraft to be lost on IS territory since air strikes began in September. Jordan is one of four Arab states which have bombed targets in Syria. Plea for mercy The confirmation that a Jordanian pilot had been captured came in a statement carried by the state news agency, Petra. “During a mission Wednesday morning conducted by several Royal Jordanian Air Force planes against hideouts of the IS terrorist organisation in the Raqqa region, one of the planes went down and the pilot was taken hostage,” a military source was quoted as saying. “Jordan holds the group and its supporters responsible for the safety of the pilot and his life,” the source added. The source did not name the pilot, but Petra published a photo of Flt Lt Kasasbeh above its report. Analysis: Jonathan Marcus, BBC defence correspondent : We do not know yet if the Jordanian aircraft suffered an engine failure or other technical problem, or if it was actually downed by IS air defences. IS has been assumed to have a limited air defence capability – based not least on the sorts of shoulder-fired missiles that are rife in the region. IS fighters have downed Iraqi and Syrian government aircraft and helicopters in the past. We also know that IS has overrun a number of Syrian air defence bases. It is not clear if IS has personnel capable of operating any of these more sophisticated Soviet or Russian-supplied systems. The US-led coalition permanently monitors the nature of the air defence threat and if the Jordanian aircraft was shot down then any potential lessons will be fed into the ongoing air campaign. — BBC Online