Father of pilot captured by IS pleads for release

Friends and relatives of Mu’ath Safi al-Kaseasbeh, a Jordanian pilot captured by the Islamic State group, gather in the town of Aey near Al Karak in southern Jordan, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014. AP

AMMAN, Jordan — The father of a Jordanian pilot captured by Islamic State militants in Syria has pleaded for his son’s release.

Safi Yousef al-Kaseasbeh, speaking to reporters in the Jordanian capital Amman on Thursday, also urged the militants to show “hospitality” toward his son. He pleaded for good treatment, reminding the militants that his son was a Muslim, the same faith as the ultraconservative group.

The pilot, 1st Lt. Mu’ath al-Kaseasbeh, was captured after his warplane crashed in the militant stronghold of Raqqa on Wednesday while carrying out airstrikes against the militant group.

There has been no word on his fate since his capture. He is the first known military member to be captured from the U.S.-led coalition waging an air campaign against the militant group in Iraq and Syria.