Jordan vows to 'eradicate' ISIL after pilot's murder

AMMAN - Agence France-Presse

A Royal Jordanian Air Force plane takes off from an air base to strike the Islamic state in the Syrian city of Raqqa February 5, 2015. REUTERS Photo

Jordan said air strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are only the start of its retaliation for the burning alive of one of its pilots, vowing to "eradicate" the jihadists.
      
Jordan's military said "dozens of jet fighters" struck ISIL targets on Thursday, hitting militant training camps as well as weapons and ammunition depots.
      
Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told CNN the operation was "the beginning of our retaliation over this horrific and brutal murder of our brave young pilot.
      
"But it's not the beginning of our fight against terrorism and extremism."       

The gruesome murder of pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh, captured by ISIL in December after his F-16 crashed in Syria, has sparked grief and deep anger in Jordan.
      
Judeh declined to reveal Jordan's military plans but said it would hit the militants with all its might.
      
"We're upping the ante. We're going after them wherever they are, with everything that we have. But it's not the beginning, and it's certainly not the end," he said.
      
"We're going to go after them and we will eradicate them... We are at the forefront. This is our fight."       
Jordan has conducted regular air raids against ISIL across the border in Syria as part of a US-led campaign against the Sunni extremist group.