In a new show of brutality for a group already known for displays of violence, the Islamic State released a video on Tuesday purporting to show the execution of a captive Jordanian pilot by burning him alive.
The lengthy footage shows clips of Jordan’s involvement in the United States-led airstrikes against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
At the end, the pilot, First Lt. Moaz al-Kasasbeh, stands inside of a cage and is burned alive when an unidentified militant uses a torch to ignite flammable liquid that has drenched the pilot’s clothing.
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In the final minutes of the video, he is shown inside a black-barred cage, his jumpsuit soaked in what appears to be gasoline. A hooded Islamic State fighter theatrically lights a torch and the pilot is engulfed in flames. He is shown collapsing to his knees, then falls backward.
Somini Sengupta, Shreeya Sinha and Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York, and Julie Hirschfield Davis from Washington.
