Jordan executes two militants in response to pilot murder

Jordan executed two militant prisoners at dawn on Wednesday after vowing a harsh response to the Islamic State group's burning alive of a Jordanian pilot, government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said.

Would-be Iraqi female suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi and Iraqi Al-Qaeda member Ziad al-Karboli were executed at 4:00 am local time (0200 GMT), Momani told AFP.

A security source said the executions were carried out at Swaqa prison south of the capital Amman.

Jordan had promised to begin executing death-row Islamic extremists at daybreak in response to the murder of Maaz al-Kassasbeh, who was captured by IS when his plane went down in December.

Rishawi, 44, was condemned to death for her participation in deadly attacks in Amman in 2005 and IS had offered to spare Kassasbeh's life and free a Japanese hostage -- who was later beheaded -- if she were released.

Jordan had on Tuesday vowed an "earth-shattering" response to the killing of Kassasbeh, hours after a harrowing video emerged online purporting to show the captive and caged 26-year-old F-16 fighter pilot engulfed in flames.