Two Syrians accused of plotting assassination instigated by Daesh

AMMAN — Security bodies have reportedly foiled an attempt to assassinate one of the Jordanian pilots whose name was mentioned in the video released by the Daesh terrorist organisation last year showing the burning alive of Jordanian pilot Muath Al Kasasbeh.

According to a report published Tuesday in Al Rai newspaper, the two suspects arrested in the case were Syrians who have been residing in the Kingdom since 2013. 

One of them is a juvenile who was referred to the Amman attorney while the other, in his 20s, was referred to the State Security Court, which already held a first hearing Monday. The suspect faced charges of plotting to carry out terrorist acts and using the Internet to promote the ideology of a terrorist organisation, Al Rai reported.

The two suspects are friends on Facebook and Skype and were found to be supporting Daesh's military operations in Iraq and Syria, Al Rai reported, citing a report detailing the case it has obtained.

The adult suspect, Al Rai said, used his Facebook account to follow news and videos of Daesh's military operations and to build contacts with people affiliated with the terrorist organisation.  

Following Daesh’s release of the video showing the burning alive of Kasasbeh in February last year, the adult suspect contacted a member in the ultra-radical group, calling himself “Al Shamil Al Shami” to check on the authenticity of names of Jordanian pilots mentioned at the end of the grisly video, to kill one of them and win the 100 golden liras Daesh put as a prize for that, Al Rai reported.

After succeeding in building contacts within Daesh, which promised to secure them the prize of 100 golden liras, the two suspects agreed to assassinate one of the Jordanian pilots mentioned in the video, who lives in Howara in Irbid Governorate, in collaboration with a third party who has not yet been identified, Al Rai reported.

The two suspects then agreed to reside in a house next to the pilot’s residence, allegedly waiting for a $15,000 payment from Daesh to buy weapons for the assassination.