Coalition airplanes bomb IS ‘capital’ Raqqa in Syria
BEIRUT: Coalition warplanes pounded a stronghold of the Islamic State group in Syria on Saturday amid uncertainty over the fate of a US hostage the jihadists claim was killed in an earlier raid.
The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, said it would station a squadron of F-16 warplanes in Jordan to support it in strikes against the IS who burned alive a captured Jordanian airman.
The parents of American Kayla Jean Mueller said they were “hopeful” she was still alive, after IS said she had been buried under rubble following a strike by a Jordanian warplane on their self-proclaimed capital Raqqa.
The United States said there was no proof that the 26-year-old aid worker from Arizona had been killed.
Ms Mueller’s parents appealed to her captors to contact them and for her safe return, in a statement carried by NBC News.
“This news leaves us concerned yet we are still hopeful that Kayla is alive. We have sent you a private message and ask that you respond to us privately,” said Carl and Marsha Mueller.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the US-led coalition fighting the IS bombarded the Raqqa area on Saturday for a second consecutive day.
More than 30 IS fighters were killed in raids Friday around Raqqa, said the Britainbased monitor.
A coalition statement said it had carried out a total of 11 air strikes against the IS in Syria and 15 in Iraq during a 24-hour period up to Saturday morning, including in Raqqa.
It said one air strike struck multiple IS weapons storage facilities in the Raqqa area.
Jordanian state media said its warplanes had launched new anti-IS raids Saturday, for the third consecutive day, without saying what the targets were.
Coalition partner UAE said an unspecified number of F-16s would be deployed in Jordan to support the Hashemite kingdom’s military in the fight against “the brutal terrorist organisation” IS.
An activist in Raqqa who asked not to be identified said unconfirmed reports indicate Ms Mueller had been moved recently from a women’s prison in the city to an IS camp farther east.
The camp “has recently been the target of intense coalition raids”, he said. “At the moment we cannot confirm whether she was killed in the raids.”
Jordan — still reeling from the brutal murder of pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh — rejected the jihadists’ claim that its warplanes killed Ms Mueller, calling it an “old and sick trick” to deter coalition strikes.
The IS said none of its fighters was wounded in the raid, It did not publish any pictures of her body.
The Jordanian military has said its fighter jets have launched dozens of strikes since Thursday and that it would provide details to journalists on Sunday about the targets it says it has destroyed.
Foreign Minister Nasser Judah said the air force had targeted IS in both Syria and Iraq.