Jordan appeals for Turkish help to rescue captured pilot

Uğur Ergan ANKARA

A still image released by the Islamic State group's branch in Raqa on jihadist websites on December 24, 2014 purportedly shows a Jordanian pilot (C) captured by ISIL fighters after they shot down a warplane from the US-led coalition with an anti-aircraft missile near Raqa city.

Jordan has reportedly asked help from Turkey in an attempt to rescue a Jordanian pilot captured last week by Islamist militants during a mission in Syria.

The Jordanian government has appealed to Turkey’s Amman Embassy to save Maaz Safi Yousef al-Kassasbeh, a 26-year-old pilot who was captured by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Turkish authorities told daily Hürriyet, confirming media reports.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry, National Intelligence Agency (MİT) and other related institutions have begun to review the details of the incident and will tell Jordan if the country can do anything, sources also said.

Some 49 Turkish Embassy staff in Mosul, who were taken hostage by ISIL for 101 days, were released on Sept. 20 as a result of intense efforts by Turkish government agenci