Jordan wants IS to prove captured pilot still alive

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Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said Wednesday that his country wants the Islamic State (IS) to prove that an abducted Jordanian pilot was still alive.

Relatives of the Jordanian pilot Muath Kasasbeh who was captured by IS protest in front of Royal Palace in Amman, Jordan, on Jan. 28, 2015. The Islamic State (IS) militant group threatened to kill a Japanese hostage and Jordanian pilot within 24 hours if female suicide bomber is not released. [Photo/Xinhua]

Relatives of the Jordanian pilot Muath Kasasbeh who was captured by IS protest in front of Royal Palace in Amman, Jordan, on Jan. 28, 2015. The Islamic State (IS) militant group threatened to kill a Japanese hostage and Jordanian pilot within 24 hours if female suicide bomber is not released. [Photo/Xinhua]

"Jordan has asked the Islamic State (IS) to provide a proof of life for the Jordanian pilot it captured last year but we have not received a reply," the minister said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, the Jordanian government said it was willing to swap Sajida Rishawi, an Iraqi suicide bomber, with captured pilot Muath Kasasbeh.

Relatives of the pilot staged a protest Wednesday so as to press the government for a positive responding to the IS demands.

On Tuesday, the IS threatened to kill a Japanese hostage and the Jordanian pilot within 24 hours if the female suicide bomber was not released.

Also on Tuesday, Japanese freelance journalist Kenji Goto appeared in an online video while asking the Japanese government to exercise pressure on Jordan to hand over Rishawi, a suicide bomber who in 2005 failed to detonate an explosive belt she was wearing and was later arrested and sentenced to death.

Rishawi is an Iraqi woman who has close ties with Abu Musab Zarqawi, former leader of al-Qaida cell in Iraq.

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