Jordan already carried out one act of retaliation, executing two terrorist prisoners with ties to al Qaeda in Iraq. One of them was Sajida al-Rishawi, the would-be suicide bomber whose release ISIS had demanded.
Protesters gathered in the streets of the Jordanian capital, Amman, and in the home town of the pilot, Moath al-Kasasbeh.
But what will ISIS and Jordan do next?
ISIS
It doesn’t care about outrage
“I think there’s likely to be a backlash, particularly in Jordan,” said Paul Cruickshank, a CNN terrorism analyst. “I think it’s sort of going to rally support for King Abdullah and his participation in the anti-ISIS coalition.”
But it’s unclear whether ISIS leaders are bothered by the condemnation and outrage.
“ISIS doesn’t really care very much about the reactions it gets from Arab or foreign governments,” said Rami Khouri, a Middle East analyst based in Beirut. “They’re on a mission to carry out their barbaric deed.”
Anger against ISIS was in evidence among protesters in Jordan.
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It may be dealing with shifting sentiments
A key question is how the Jordanian population’s views on the U.S.-led airstrikes against ISIS will develop over time.
For the time being, the anger and desire for revenge appear to be directed against ISIS. But before the pilot’s killing was announced, some Jordanian’s had been questioning the government’s decision to take part in the anti-ISIS coalition.
“We’re going to have to see what happens after this period of mourning and anger is over,” said CNN’s Jomana Karadsheh in Amman. “What sort of calls are we going to be hearing from the Jordanian street?”
The issue is complex in a country like Jordan, according to Khouri.
“You get situations where many Muslims — they don’t support ISIS — but they don’t like foreign armies coming to attack Arab Sunni Muslims,” he told CNN.
“No doubt that the majority, especially in Jordan, are afraid of ISIS and want to fight it and want to defeat it,” Khouri said. “But there are tensions because many, many people instinctively in the Arab world are hesitant to join an American-led military assault against Arab parties.”
CNN’s Dana Ford contributed to this report.
