| Operation Martyr Muath | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofJordanian intervention in the Syrian civil war | |||||||
 Two F-16 of the Royal Jordanian Air Force | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Jordan |  Islamic State | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| King Abdullah II | Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 30F-16 fighter jets | 200,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 56 ISIS militants killed and 56 targets destroyed | ||||||
Operation Martyr Muath (Arabic:عملية الشهيد معاذ) was a 3-day series of airstrikes by theRoyal Jordanian Air Force onIslamic State targets in response to the execution of the pilotMuath Al-Kasasbeh by burning him alive.[1]
PilotMuath al-Kasasbeh of the Royal Jordanian Air Force was captured on 24 December 2014 after his F-16 jet crashed over ISIS-held territory during a mission. The Jordanian government spent the next three months negotiating the pilot's release in exchange for some ISIS and Al-Qaeda prisoners from Jordanian prisons. On 2 February 2015, a 22-minute video was released by ISIS showed the pilot being interrogated and then burned alive in a cage. However, it is believed that the pilot was executed on 3 January and that ISIS was thus negotiating under false pretence for an entire month.[2]
Jordan's three-day aerial bombardment of ISIS-held territory in Syria targeted ISIS training camps, ammunition depots and oil extraction facilities, which inflicted 56 casualties among ISIS fighters, including a high-ranking official known as the "Prince of Nineveh".[3]Jordanian state TV released footage showing fighter jets leavingMuwaffaq Salti Air Base inAzraq, with the video entitled, "this is the beginning and you will get to know the Jordanians".[citation needed]
Jordanian F-16s returning from the bombing campaign made a diversion inAl-Karak, over the place whereKing Abdullah II and large crowds gathered to offer condolences to Muath's family.[4]
ISIS falsely claimed that Jordanian airstrikes had killed female American hostageKayla Mueller, a claim that was debunked by Jordanian and American government officials.[5]