Post beheading of Kenji Goto, Jordan still ready for prisoner swap with Islamic State

Jordan said on Sunday it was still ready to hand over a jailed Iraqi militant to Islamic State in a swap deal if its captured pilot was released, even after a second Japanese hostage was beheaded by the hardline group. Jordan's security and military agencies were making constant checks to see whether the pilot, Muath al-Kasaesbeh, was still alive, government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani told Reuters.

"We are still ready to hand over the convict Sajida al-Rishawi in return for the return of our son and our hero," Mohammad al-Momani added. Kasaesbeh was captured in December after his F-16 fighter jet crashed in territory controlled by the militants in Syria.