Latest news with #OsamaKrayem
The Sun
11-06-2025
- The Sun
I watched ISIS burn my pilot brother alive in a cage – I begged the air force to bomb jail so he'd be spared cruel death
THE brother of a pilot who was burned alive in Syria by ISIS said he begged air forces to bomb the jail he was being held in to spare him a cruel death. Speaking at the Stockholm district court on Wednesday, Jawdat al-Kassasbeh recounted the turmoil he and his family have endured since his brother Maaz al-Kassasbeh was savagely killed. 6 6 6 The Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot was shot down in Raqqa, Syria, in December 2014. A few weeks later, ISIS released a video of al-Kasasbeh being burned alive in a cage. Osama Krayem, a 32-year-old Swede already serving long prison sentences for his role in the Paris and Brussels attacks in 2015 and 2016, is on trial for his role in the pilot's killing. The slain pilot's brother told the court of the physical and psychological trauma he and his family have suffered since his sibling's death. He said he learned of his capture through a relative who worked at Jordan's foreign ministry and immediately headed to the air force headquarters. He said: "There, I see that the head of the air force and the operations teams are having a meeting on the subject... There were large screens showing images of Syria. He told me: 'I think he's in this house', "Psychologically, I was not doing well at that moment. So I told the head of the air force that ... I thought (IS fighters) would kill him in a horrible way. "I asked if it would be possible to bomb the house so he could be spared an atrocious death," he added. Jawdat later found out about his brother's death on TV. He said: "It was a shock. I watched the whole video but in bits. I couldn't watch the entire video until 2021." He added that the cruel nature in which his brother was killed took a massive toll on the whole family, in particular his mother who had to be hospitalised. I fought ISIS in Syria & I know bloodthirsty thugs are plotting comeback after fall of Assad - Europe must be ready, says Brit fighter Jawdat also puts his sister's diabetes down to his brother's torturous death, as well as his dad's hypertension and poor mental health. The court hearing comes as another ISIS leader believed to have also been involved in burning the Jordanian pilot to death was captured. Syrian national Saddam al-Jamal was captured in Iraq after being lured from Syria by intelligence officers using the phone of Ismail al-Ethawi, an ISIS lieutenant captured in February. Tipped as a future leader of the terrorist organisation, al-Jamal was known for his brutality. 6 6 Jordanian authorities accused him of also being behind the brutal execution of downed pilot. A former commander in the Free Syrian Army which fought against President Bashar al-Assad's forces, al-Jamal had also taken part in multiple atrocities including a 2014 massacre in Deir Ezzor, Syria, in which 700 members of a tribe opposed to ISIS were killed. He also ordered the execution of children, sometimes in front of their parents. Al-Ethawi, who was captured in February, was a top aide to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Intelligence officers used his account on Telegram, a social media app favoured by terror organisations because it encrypts messages, to lure the other four high-ranking leaders out of Syria. The five of them were on a group chat together. Iraqi security adviser Hisham al Hashemi told The Telegraph that Iraqi troops were surprised to see the four senior senior jihadists travel on motorcycles, having expecting them to arrive in a motorcade. Al-Hashemi also said that American troops also took part in the operation. ISIS field commanders Mohamed al-Qadeer, Issam Abdel Kader al-Zawba'i and Omar Shehab El-Karboul were also captured in the sting, which has been praised by Donald Trump. 'Five Most Wanted leaders of ISIS just captured,' the US president posted on Twitter last week. 6
Arab News
11-06-2025
- Arab News
Brother of Jordan pilot burnt to death tells court of family's pain
STOCKHOLM: The brother of a Jordanian pilot burned alive in Syria by Daesh spoke on Wednesday of the family's enduring pain at the trial of an extremist accused of involvement in the grisly execution. The brutal killing took place sometime in late 2014 or early 2015 and sparked outrage internationally and in Jordan. Osama Krayem, a 32-year-old Swede already serving long prison sentences for his role in the Paris and Brussels attacks in 2015 and 2016, is on trial in Stockholm, suspected of war crimes and terrorist crimes for the pilot's killing. On Dec. 24, 2014, an aircraft belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force crashed in Syria. The pilot, Maaz Al-Kassasbeh, was captured the same day by Daesh near the central city of Raqqa and was burned alive in a cage sometime before Feb. 3, 2015, when a video of the gruesome killing was published, according to the prosecution. On Wednesday, Jawdat Al-Kassasbeh, the brother of the pilot and a plaintiff in the case, told the Stockholm district court of the physical and psychological trauma the family has suffered since the killing. Defendant Krayem refused to answer questions from the prosecution on Wednesday. 'Can you say something about your current situation? Are you a practicing Muslim? Can you say something about your view of Daesh?' the prosecutor asked. 'Does the fact that you are no longer answering questions have anything to do with you feeling that you were mistreated during the Swedish investigation?' Olin added. Avoiding the prosecutor's gaze, the defendant remained silent. Segments from interrogations with Krayem conducted during the investigation were read out and played during the trial. When questioned by police, Krayem insisted he had spent only 15 to 20 minutes on-site, unaware of what was going to happen, according to the preliminary investigation. 'I was terrified, it was the first time I had seen someone burn,' he said at the time.
Roya News
11-06-2025
- Roya News
Swedish court hears brother's testimony in trial over Jordanian pilot's execution
In a landmark trial described as the first of its kind in a case that sparked global outrage, a Swedish court has heard a moving testimony from the brother of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh, who was brutally burned alive by Daesh in Syria in 2015. The trial concerns Osama Krayem, a Swedish citizen of Iraqi origin, charged with involvement in the crime, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Joudat al-Kasasbeh, a lawyer and the brother of the late pilot, told the Stockholm court about the ongoing psychological and physical suffering his family has endured for over a decade. He revealed that their mother was hospitalized immediately upon learning of Muath's execution, his older sister developed diabetes, and his father suffers from chronic illnesses and a deeply mournful mental state, frequently breaking down in tears. Joudat recounted receiving news of his brother's capture in late 2014 and rushing to the Jordanian Air Force headquarters. There, the commander informed him that the pilot was believed to be held captive inside Syria. 'I was in a very bad state mentally,' he said. During Wednesday's session, the accused, Osama Krayem, remained silent and refused to answer questions from the prosecution, avoiding eye contact with prosecutor Henrik Olin. However, in a previous interrogation in February, Krayem claimed he did not know what would happen at the execution site and insisted he stayed no longer than 20 minutes before noticing cameras. 'I was terrified. That was the first time I saw someone being burned,' he said. Muath al-Kasasbeh's plane was shot down on December 24, 2014, near Raqqa, then the Daesh stronghold in Syria. Approximately six weeks later, Daesh released a horrifying video showing the pilot inside a metal cage, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, before being set on fire. The trial, which began on June 4, marks the first judicial action against a suspect linked to this crime, which had a profound impact in Jordan, especially since al-Kasasbeh was part of an international coalition led by the United States fighting the terrorist group.
Daily Mail
11-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Brother of Jordanian pilot burnt alive in a cage in notorious ISIS execution reveals he begged air force to bomb house where he was being held 'to spare him an atrocious death'
The brother of a Jordanian pilot burned alive in Syria by the Islamic State has revealed that he pleaded for the air force to bomb the house where his captive sibling was being held to spare him from a horrific death at the hands of the terror group. The brutal killing took place sometime in late 2014 or early 2015 and sparked outrage internationally. Osama Krayem, a 32-year-old Swede already serving long prison sentences for his role in the Paris and Brussels attacks in 2015 and 2016, is on trial in Stockholm suspected of war crimes and terrorist crimes for his role in the pilot's killing. On December 24, 2014, an aircraft belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force crashed in Syria. The pilot, Maaz al-Kassasbeh, was captured the same day by ISIS fighters near the central city of Raqqa and was burned alive in a cage sometime before February 3, 2015, when a video of the gruesome killing was published, according to the prosecution. On Wednesday, Jawdat al-Kassasbeh, the brother of the pilot told the Stockholm district court of the physical and psychological trauma the family has suffered since the killing. He said he learned of his brother's capture through a relative who worked at Jordan's foreign ministry and immediately went to the air force headquarters. 'There, I see that the head of the air force and the operations teams are having a meeting on the subject... There were large screens showing images of Syria,' he testified. 'He told me: 'I think he's in this house',' he said. 'Psychologically, I was not doing well at that moment. So I told the head of the air force that ... I thought (ISIS fighters) would kill him in a horrible way. I asked if it would be possible to bomb the house so he could be spared an atrocious death,' he added. The Swedish investigation describes the al-Kassasbeh family as having close ties to Jordan's royal family and military. Jawdat al-Kassasbeh said he later learned of his brother's death on television. 'It was a shock. I watched the whole video but in bits. I couldn't watch the entire video until 2021,' he said. When his mother learned of the execution, 'she had to be hospitalised immediately'. His eldest sister 'developed diabetes', while their father 'contracted chronic illnesses, hypertension and is in poor psychological condition, he cries regularly,' al-Kassasbeh said. Jihadist Krayem could be the first person to be convicted in connection with the heinous killing of Maaz al-Kassasbeh. Prosecutors have said the killing was considered 'one of the most brutal murders committed by [ISIS] during the war in Syria'. The killing of the pilot violates the laws of war, and the killing and video constitute terrorist activities, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement. Under Swedish legislation, courts can try people for crimes against international law committed abroad. The ISIS militant group once imposed a reign of terror over millions of people in Syria and Iraq, controlling swathes of the countries between 2014 and 2017 before it was defeated in its last bastions in 2019. It is responsible for some of Europe's worst terror atrocities in recent years. Krayem, who is from Malmo in southern Sweden, joined ISIS in Syria in 2014 before returning to Europe. In June 2022, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison in France for assisting in the planning of the 2015 Paris attacks, in which 130 people died. The following year, he was given a life sentence in Belgium for participating in the bombings on March 22, 2016, at Brussels' main airport and on the metro system, which killed 32 people. Prior to his arrest on April 8, 2016, he was one of Europe's most wanted fugitives, and considered to be a hardened ISIS operative.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Sweden tries ISIL member over burning death of Jordanian pilot in 2015
A convicted Swedish member of ISIL has gone on trial in Stockholm, accused of war crimes for his role in the horrific 2015 killing of a captured Jordanian pilot, who was burned alive in Syria. 'Osama Krayem has, together and in agreement with other perpetrators belonging to IS [ISIL], killed Maaz al-Kassasbeh,' prosecutor Reena Devgun told the district court on Wednesday. 'Osama Krayem, in uniform and armed, guarded and led the victim Moaz al-Kassasbeh to a metal cage, where the latter was then locked up. One of the co-perpetrators then set fire to Moaz al-Kassasbeh, who had no possibility to defend himself or call for help,' Devgun said. The case is considered unique as the other ISIL members involved in the brutal killing, which sparked international outrage at the time, are presumed dead, Swedish prosecutor Henrik Olin told the AFP news agency. Krayem, 32, wearing a dark blue shirt and with a thick beard and long, loose dark hair, had his back to the handful of journalists and spectators who followed Wednesday's proceedings behind a glass wall in the high security courtroom in Stockholm's district court. He appeared calm as the prosecution laid out the charges, which could result in a life sentence if Krayem is convicted. In the 22-minute video of the killing, the victim is seen walking past several masked ISIL fighters, including Krayem, according to prosecutors. The pilot, who was 26 years old, is then seen being locked in the cage and praying as he is set on fire. Prosecutors have been unable to determine the exact date of the murder, but the investigation has identified the location. The defendant's lawyer, Petra Eklund, told AFP before the start of the trial that her client admitted to being present at the scene, but disputed the prosecution's version. 'He denies the acts for which he is prosecuted,' she said. 'He acknowledges having been present at that place during the event, but claims not to have acted in the manner described by the prosecutors in the account of the facts,' she added. Krayem was identified thanks to a scar on the suspect's eyebrow, visible in the video and spotted by Belgian police, which led to the investigation being opened, said Devgun when the charges were announced last week. The pilot's father, Safi al-Kassasbeh, told AFP on Wednesday the family hoped Krayem would 'receive the harshest penalty according to the magnitude of the crime'. 'This is what we expect from a respected and fair law,' he said. Krayem is already serving long prison sentences for his role in the Paris and Brussels attacks in 2015 and 2016, 30 years and life respectively. He now faces charges of 'serious war crimes and terrorist crimes' for his alleged participation in al-Kassasbeh's killing. Al-Kassasbeh's killing shocked Jordan, which at the time was participating in the US-led coalition's strikes against ISIL positions in Syria – the reason ISIL gave for killing the Syrian pilot. Jordan had declared a period of mourning following the pilot's death. On December 24, 2014, an aircraft belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force crashed in Syria. The pilot was captured the same day by ISIL fighters situated near the central city of Raqqa and burned alive in a cage sometime before February 3, 2015, when a gruesome video emerged, according to the prosecution. ISIL, which at the time controlled large chunks of Syria and Iraq, had been demanding the release of Sajida al-Rishawi – a woman held by Jordanian authorities since 2005 – in exchange for al-Kassasbeh's life. Rishawi was sentenced to death 'for conspiracy to carry out terror acts' after a triple bomb attack on the Radisson SAS hotel in the capital Amman. The propaganda video, in which ISIL also called for the killing of other Jordanian pilots, was one of the earliest videos released by the group. Krayem has been temporarily handed over to Sweden for the trial, which is scheduled to last until June 26.
