Drugged? A report in Saudi media claims Islamic State militants drugged Jordanian fighter pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh before filming the video that shows him being locked in a cage and burned alive
The
Jordanian air force pilot filmed being burned to death by Islamic State
extremists was heavily sedated and unaware of what was about to happen,
it has been claimed.
A report in Saudi Arabia's burnews.com claims
ISIS militants admitted giving Moaz
al-Kasasbeh drugs so that he did
not scream as flames consumed his body during his grotesque execution.
Jordan
has struck back hard following the circulation of the video last week,
hitting the militant group's territory with 56 air strikes in three days
and executing two ISIS-linked prisoners.
Little pain: The report also cites unspecified observers who said that Kasasbeh's 'sensory centres' burned away quickly, sparing him the agony of the inferno as it consumed him
Brutal: Titled 'Healing the Believers' Chests', the 22-minute film posted last week showed the captured airman locked in a cage before a trail of petrol leading up to its bars is set alight by masked Islamic State militants
Burnews.com reports that Kasasbeh's apparent resignation to his fate, as well as his apparently heroic stoicism as his petrol-soaked jumpsuit burst into flames, was due to heavy sedation.
The report also cites unspecified 'observers' it says conducted a detailed study of the video, who concluded that that Kasasbeh's 'sensory centres' burned quickly, leaving him unable to feel the pain of the inferno.
'It is important to note that [Kasasbeh] seemed unconscious and unaware of what awaits him and not, as some have said, that he is not afraid,' the site quotes these observers as saying.
Titled 'Healing the Believers' Chests', the 22-minute film posted last week showed the captured airman locked in a cage before a trail of petrol leading up to its bars is set alight.
Officials believe Kasasbeh had been killed almost one month earlier, despite ISIS attempting to carry out a prisoner exchange in return for the captured pilot.
Martyr: Kasasbeh was downed over Raqqa, the Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria, and held for almost a month. Right, his wife Anwar Tarawneh, holds a photo of him before his grotesque execution was confirmed
Nation in mourning: Queen Rania of Jordan consoles Miss Tarawneh after the video showing her husband being burned to death was released by militants from Islamic State last week
After the footage was released, Jordanian officials promised to retaliate harshly and quickly executed two Iraqi militants connected with ISIS.
This included Sajida al-Rishawi, the female would-be suicide bomber whose freedom ISIS had originally demanded in exchange for releasing Kasasbeh.
King Abdullah II later said Jordan's response would 'be harsh because this terrorist organisation is not only fighting us, but also fighting Islam and its pure values.'
In a statement, he pledged to hit the militants 'hard in the very centre of their strongholds'.
The United States and several Arab allies, including Jordan, have been striking ISIS in Syria since September 23, after the militant group seized control of large areas of Iraq and Syria last year and declared a 'caliphate'.
Warplanes from the U.S. and other countries have been waging an air campaign against the extremists in Iraq for even longer.