Jordan Executes Two Prisoners After Militants Kill Pilot

Jordan executed two convicted terrorists early Wednesday, hours after Islamic State jihadists released a video purporting to show them burning alive a captured Jordanian air-force pilot.

The death of the pilot, First Lt. Muath al-Kasasbeh, had spurred promises Tuesday evening of a severe response from Jordan, but execution of the two prisoners in the early hours of Wednesday came with unexpected swiftness. It was a dramatic tit-for-tat in the fight against Islamic State militants who have killed numerous high-profile hostages as they have spread across Iraq and Syria since last summer.