Jordan's King Abdullah II Will Fly Combat Missions Against Islamic State – Fiction!

Jordan’s King Abdullah II Will Fly Combat Missions Against Islamic State – Fiction!

Summary of eRumor:  

Jordan’s King Abdullah II plans to take part in combat missions against Islamic State militants after they publicly executed a Jordanian pilot.

The Truth:

 

There’s no proof that King Abdullah II plans to personally take part in airstrikes, or any other combat missions, against the Islamic State terrorist group.

The claim went viral after the Royal Hashemite Court posted a picture of King Abdullah II decked out in full combat gear on its Facebook page on February 3, 2015. The post appeared with the caption, “His Majesty King Abdullah II, the Supreme Commander of Jordanian Armed Forces, cuts short his visit to the United States of America after the martyrdom of Muath Al Kasasbeh.”

Muath Al Kasabeh was the Jordanian pilot who was burned to death by the Islamic State after prisoner-swap negotiations between Jordan and the Islamic state broke down. The Islamic State recorded Al Kasabeh’s execution and posted the video online.

King Abdullah II cut short a trip to the U.S. to return to Jordan and said, “This evil can and should be defeated.” He added that he was “more determined than ever” to destroy the Islamic State.

King Abdullah II’s strong response and the photo of him  in combat gear going viral led to speculation that King Abdullah II, a former Special Forces commander, would lead the counterattack against the Islamic State himself. The website Twitchy reports:

“Lots of heads of states around the world have paid lip service to fighting jihadists and standing against the monsters of ISIS.

Yesterday, Jordan executed ISIS operatives and walked the talk of counterterrorism…while President Obama posed for photos.

Now comes word that Jordan’s King Abdullah is heading for the front lines. Hard. Core.” 

That claim, however, appears to be false. The photo of King Abdullah II in combat gear was actually taken at a military training exercise in July of 2014, well before the Islamic State’s execution of Muath Al Kasabeh.

And Al Arabia News reported that a government official had denied reports that King Abdullah II would personally take part in the attacks against the Islamic state.