MUATH AL-KASASBEH (MAY 29, 1988 TO JANUARY 3, 2015)

INTERNET SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muath_Al-Kasasbeh

Muath Al-Kasasbeh
An image of the Jordanian Pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh
Native name	معاذ صافي يوسف الكساسبة
Birth name	Muath Safi Yousef Al-Kasasbeh
Born	29 May 1988 Karak, Jordan
Died	c. 3 January 2015 (aged 26) Raqqa, Syria
Buried at	Syria
Allegiance	Jordan
Service/branch	Royal Jordanian Air Force
Years of service	2009–15
Rank	Captain (promoted posthumously)
Unit	No. 1 Squadron
Battles/wars	Military intervention against ISIL
Spouse(s)	Anwar Al-Tarawneh

Muath Safi Yousef Al-Kasasbeh (Arabic: معاذ صافي يوسف الكساسبة‎  South Levantine pronunciation: [mʊˈʕaːð-, mʊˈʕaːz ˈsˤɑːfi ˈjuːsef el kaˈsaːsbe]; 29 May 1988 – c. 3 January 2015) was a Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot who was burned to death by ISIS after his F-16 fighter aircraft crashed over Syria.

His fighter crashed near Raqqa, Syria, on 24 December 2014 during the military intervention against the Islamic State. United States and Jordanian officials said that the crash was caused by mechanical problems, while ISIL claimed that the plane was hit by a heat-seeking missile.

Daesh held Al-Kasasbeh captive before killing him in early January 2015. It then conducted negotiations with the Jordanian government, claiming it would spare Al-Kasabeh's life and free Japanese journalist Kenji Goto in exchange for Sajida al-Rishawi, a woman sentenced to death by Jordan for attempted terrorism and possessing explosives. After the Jordanian government insisted on freeing Al-Kasasbeh as part of the deal and showing proof that he was alive before it would exchange al-Rishawi, the ISIS released a video on 3 February 2015 showing Al-Kasasbeh being burned to death while trapped inside a cage.

Al-Kasasbeh's killing provoked widespread outrage in Jordan, and condemnation by leading figures of the Islamic world.