Jordan Warplanes Strike IS after Pilot Murder

Jordan said its warplanes launched new strikes Thursday against the Islamic State group, after vowing a harsh response to the burning alive of one of its fighter pilots captured in Syria.

The news came as scores of people were killed when rebels unleashed deadly rocket fire on the Syrian capital and President Bashar Assad's air forces and artillery retaliated.

A government official in Amman said the "Jordanian air force launched raids against positions of the Islamic State group".

King Abdullah II was later briefed by the armed forces chief of staff on strikes "launched by Jordanian Air Force eagles today" (Thursday), a military statement said.

Personifying the nation's grief and deep anger over the brutal murder, Abdullah visited the airman's family, which has urged the government to "destroy" the jihadists, to pay his condolences.

Jordan has conducted regular raids against IS in Syria as part of a U.S.-led campaign against the Sunni extremist group, which has seized swathes of the war-torn country and of neighboring Iraq.

More than 200,000 people have died since anti-government protests broke out in Syria in early 2011, escalating into a multi-sided civil war that brought jihadists streaming into the country.

At least 66 people, including 12 children, were killed by regime air strikes and shelling on rebel areas around Damascus Thursday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The assault on the Eastern Ghouta region came after rebels fired more than 100 rockets at the city, killing 10 people including a child, the Britain-based group said.

The gruesome murder of Maaz al-Kassasbeh, captured by IS in December after his F-16 fighter went down in Syria, has increased support in Jordan for stepped-up military action against the jihadists.

"Jordan will wage all-out war to protect our principles and values," government newspaper Al-Rai wrote in an editorial. "We are on the lookout for this band of criminals."

The execution has sparked outrage in Jordan and protests in Amman and Karak, the bastion of Kassasbeh's influential tribe.

Demonstrations in solidarity with the family are planned for around the country Friday after weekly Muslim prayers.

Abdullah cut short a visit to the United States and returned to Amman Wednesday after the video of Kassasbeh's killing emerged.

"The blood of martyr Maaz al-Kassasbeh will not be in vain and the response of Jordan and its army after what happened to our dear son will be severe," he said afterwards.

On Wednesday, in response to the killing, Jordan executed two Iraqis on death row -- female would-be suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi and al-Qaida operative Ziad al-Karboli.

Abdullah traveled Thursday 120 kilometers (74 miles) south of Amman to Karak, where a traditional mourning tent was set up for the family to receive guests.

Hundreds of people, including representatives of the military and civilians, gathered as the king, wearing a red and white checked keffiyeh, sat next to the 26-year-old first lieutenant's father.

Safi al-Kassasbeh branded IS "infidels and terrorists who know no humanity or human rights", and said the "international community must destroy" the group.

IS had offered to spare Kassasbeh's life and free Japanese journalist Kenji Goto -- who was later beheaded -- in exchange for Rishawi's release.

Rishawi, 44, was sentenced to death for her participation in triple hotel bombings in Amman in 2005 that killed 60 people.

She was closely linked to IS's predecessor organization in Iraq, and was seen as an important symbol for the jihadists.

Jordanian television suggested Kassasbeh was killed on January 3, before IS offered to spare his life and free Goto in return for Rishawi's release.

Following the airman's capture, another member of the US-led coalition, the United Arab Emirates, withdrew from air strike missions because of fears for the safety of its pilots, a US official said.

"I can confirm that UAE suspended air strikes shortly after the Jordanian pilot's plane went down," the official told AFP.

"But let me be clear that UAE continues to be an important and valuable partner that is contributing to the coalition," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who had hosted Abdullah in a hastily organized meeting before his return to Jordan, decried the "cowardice and depravity" of IS.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the brutality of IS "beyond comprehension".

IS had previously beheaded two U.S. journalists, an American aid worker and two British aid workers in similar videos. It has also killed a second Japanese hostage.