Q&A: Jordan already fighting IS in Syria; Iraq could be next

Jawdat al-Kaseasbeh, a brother of slain Jordanians pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh, reacts to people gathering to show their support for the government against terror during a rally in Amman, Jordan, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015. Jordanian warplanes bombed Islamic State targets on Thursday, state TV said, after the country's king vowed to wage a "harsh" war against the militants who control large areas of neighboring Syria and Iraq. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) Jawdat al-Kaseasbeh, a brother of slain Jordanians pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh, reacts to people gathering to show their support for the government against terror during a rally in Amman, Jordan, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015. Jordanian warplanes bombed Islamic State targets on Thursday, state TV said, after the country's king vowed to wage a "harsh" war against the militants who control large areas of neighboring Syria and Iraq. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)

By Associated Press February 5, 2015 4 min read

BAGHDAD (AP) – The horrific slaying of a Jordanian fighter pilot by the Islamic State group has spurred speculation that Jordan could expand its fight against the Sunni militant group with direct military operations in IS-held parts of Iraq.

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WHAT HAS JORDAN CONTRIBUTED TO THE FIGHT?

Diplomacy and air power. Like the Sunni sheikhdoms in the Persian Gulf, Jordan thus far has restricted its involvement in the fight against the Islamic State group to airstrikes in Syria.

But diplomatically, it has taken a hands-on role in rallying Sunni factions in Iraq against the extremists. In July, weeks after the militants seized Iraq’s second-largest city of Mosul, Jordan hosted 150 opposition figures from Sunni tribes, religious figures, and former Baathists to the Jordanian capital, Amman, to discuss the escalating crisis.