Jordan to hunt ISIL ‘wherever they are’
February 8, 2015, 6:42 am

Jordanian Queen Rania led an anti-ISIL demonstration in the capital Amman on Friday [Xinhua]

Over the past few days the Jordanian Army and Air Force have taken a more active role in pursuing ISIL targets as thousands of people demonstrate against the extremist group in the capital Amman and other cities.

One air raid killed 55 ISIL fighters in Raqqa, the self-declared capital of the Islamic State in Syria, Jordanian military officials said.

The United Arab Emirates, which last month suspended its participation in the US-led anti-ISIL coalition, said it would soon resume sorties.

It also said it would station a squadron of F-16 fighter planes in Jordan to assist in the fight against ISIL.

Meanwhile, Jordanian officials have vowed to take the fight to the Islamic state saying they will pursue them “wherever they are”.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh reiterated a military communique that his country would throw everything it had against the extremist group in Iraq and Syria.

King Abdullah II has told his country’s media that Jordan will fight to the ‘last man and bullet’ in its mission to destroy ISIL.

The US State Department says it is considering providing Jordan with additional weapons.

Deputy Spokeswoman Marie Harf said during an interview on CNN on Friday: “We are absolutely expediting any requests they have for military assistance and we’re going to keep working with them on the shared fight together. This is something we’re committed to.”

On Friday and Saturday Jordanian fighter jets took part in US led coalition air strikes against ISIL targets in both Syria and Iraq.

The strikes in Iraq targeted northern regions under ISIL control, including the towns and cities of Al Qaim, Kirkuk, Mahkmur, Mosul and Tal Afar.

On Friday, ISIL claimed an American woman they had been holding hostage was killed in one of the Jordanian air strikes.

Meanwhile, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that ISIL had sustained considerable losses in both men and materiel in the past few days.

Both claims have not been independently verified.

The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies