Jordanians repeat offer of prisoner exchange

Lieutenant Muath al-Kaseasbeh was captured in December after his fighter jet crashed in territory controlled by Isis. Photo / AP

Amman seeks to swap terrorist for captive pilot despite beheading of journalist.

Jordan yesterday renewed its offer to swap a convicted terrorist for the return of its air force pilot held captive by Isis (Islamic State), despite the apparent beheading of his fellow prisoner.

Kenji Goto, the Japanese journalist whose purported death was shown in the latest video released by the group, had been detained with Lieutenant Muath al-Kasaesbeh, but there was no word on the fate of the F-16 pilot in the footage.

Kasaesbeh was captured in December after his fighter jet crashed in territory controlled by Isis. Since pictures were released of him surrounded by captors, there has been no proof that he is still alive.

Jordan had made the pilot's freedom a condition for the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, a failed suicide bomber, who was jailed for her role in a 2005 attack that killed 60 people in Jordan's capital, Amman.

"We want to know how the negotiations are going in a positive direction or not," said the pilot's uncle Yassin Rawashda. "And we want the family to be [involved] in the course of negotiations." His family said there had been no word from either side as they held a candlelit vigil following news of the journalist's death.

The Isis militants who murdered Goto made no attempts at dialogue with his family in the days before they killed him. The revelation raises doubts over whether the group ever intended to release him.

Goto's family had made contact with the jihadists after the group demanded a US$200 million ($275 million) ransom two weeks ago for the journalist and for Haruna Yukawa, another Japanese hostage.

Goto's wife Rinko said she was "devastated" at the news of his death. "While feeling a great personal loss, I remain extremely proud of my husband who reported the plight of people in conflict areas like Iraq, Somalia and Syria," she said.

Isis has beheaded an Iraqi police officer and two soldiers, according to pictures posted online. In one photo, a blindfolded man said to be a police lieutenant colonel kneels in a street in front of a row of gunmen.

A masked militant is then shown beheading the victim with a machete, after which his severed head is placed atop his body and the machete driven into his back.

Another photo shows an overweight masked militant apparently struggling to behead a man identified as a captured Iraqi soldier.

A second soldier was beheaded at the same location, according to another photo. The authenticity of the photos could not be confirmed.

- additional reporting Independent, AFP