ISIS Video: Jordan Pilot Burned Alive in Cage

ISIS today released a video purporting to show the execution of Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, and in it he is burned alive. Images being posted by militants on Twitter show a man in a cage, and a line of fuel leading to it. The line is set on fire, and as Sky News puts it, "the cage bursts into flames." Al-Kaseasbeh had been held since his plane crashed just before Christmas in ISIS-held territory just outside Raqqa, Syria. He had been the subject of intense negotiations between Jordan and the militants, who sought the release of an Iraqi woman convicted in Jordan. Jordanian state media confirmed al-Kaseasbeh's death, adds the BBC, and said that he was killed a month ago.

Jordan had recently demanded proof of life; none was forthcoming, so it's unclear when the video might have been filmed. The Daily Beast notes that Jordan, which faced intense domestic pressure to secure al-Kaseasbeh's release, had vowed to kill ISIS prisoners if the pilot was executed. (More Muath al-Kaseasbeh stories.)