Jordanian pilot was likely murdered long before ISIS released video, experts say

(Image credit: REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed)

Jordan demanded proof that Lt. Muath al-Kasaesbeh was alive before handing over a convicted suicide bomber to Islamic State, and for good reason: He had probably been dead for days or even weeks. Jordan's state-run TV says that he may have been burned alive as early as Jan. 3, and terrorism experts tell The Associated Press that the elaborately staged 22-minute video obviously took time to put together, using multiple cameras and sophisticated editing techniques.

The prisoner-exchange demand appears to be nothing more than a callous way to promote the video, says Brigitte Nacos, a political scientist at Columbia University. "The more gruesome the executions are, the more attention they get." The attention isn't necessarily to ISIS's benefit, though. On Friday, for example, prominent jihadi preacher Abu Mohammed al-Maqdesi said burning the pilot was "not acceptable by any religion and by anyone." Public opinion in Jordan, once mixed, is now solidly against ISIS.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.