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Source: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Unraveling-Jordans-hangings-483555
Jordan's Fight Against ISIS
(Jerusalem Post) Ben Lynfield - In its fight against Islamic State, Jordan last week executed 15 people by hanging. Ten of the executed had been convicted of terrorism charges. Another five had been convicted on murder charges. Jordan's aim is to project power and deterrence against ISIS, which Jordanians associate with the group's burning alive of captured Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh in 2015. Gabriel Ben-Dor, a Middle East specialist at Haifa University, said, "It is psychologically important for the Jordanian public to show they are fighting back and it's very important for Jordan, on the inter-Arab front of moderate Sunni countries, to show it is fighting with them and that it is determined and capable of punishing its enemies. The regime has many people who would support it but are not certain that it is really here to stay, that it is strong and viable, so this kind of activity is helpful to it from that point of view."