Amman: The Jordanian authorities will execute “within hours” an Iraqi woman the government had sought to exchange for a Jordanian pilot held captive by the militant group Islamic State, a Jordanian security source said on Tuesday.
Islamic State released a video on Tuesday that purported to show the pilot, Mouath al-Kasaesbeh, being burned to death. The video`s authenticity could not immediately be confirmed.
Sajida al-Rishawi, the Iraqi woman, was sentenced to death for her role in a 2005 suicide bomb attack that killed 60 people in Amman. The authorities will also execute three men previously sentenced for militancy, the source said.
"The decision has been taken to implement the death sentence against the Iraqi convict and others," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Islamic State had demanded Rishawi`s release in return for the life of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto. The beheading of Goto, a veteran war reporter, was shown in a video released by the group on Saturday.
