AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan is going after Islamic State group militants
wherever they are and plans to "wipe them out completely," Jordan's
interior minister said in comments published Saturday.
It was the latest in a series of warnings of harsh retaliation after
the militants released a video of them burning a Jordanian pilot to
death in a cage. The gruesome images sparked widespread anger in
Jordan and the region.
Jordanian fighter jets struck ISIS weapons depots and training sites
Thursday and Friday. The kingdom joined a U.S.-led military
coalition in September, but said after the killing of the pilot, Lt.
Muath al-Kaseasbeh, that it would intensify its air attacks.
Interior Minister Hussein al-Majali said al-Kaseasbeh's killing was
a turning point for Jordan.
He told the state-run al-Rai newspaper in comments published
Saturday that Jordan will go after the militants "wherever they
are."
The most recent airstrikes are "the beginning of a continued process
to eliminate them and wipe them out completely," he said of the
militants who control about a third of neighboring Syria and Iraq.
The heightened confrontation has raised concerns about possible
Islamic State group attacks in Jordan.
The minister said security services have a tight grip and are ready
for "anyone who wants to interfere in the security of Jordan." He
urged Jordanians to report suspicious behavior, particular in
neighborhoods with large numbers of non-Jordanians.