Iraq says Jordan offers all military means in IS fight

Jordan is ready to offer all military means at its disposal to help Iraq fight the Islamic State group, Iraq's defence minister said Wednesday after meeting Amman's army chief.

"The king of Jordan has requested that all means of the Jordanian armed forces be made available to the Iraqi army," said Khaled al-Obaidi.

"This was confirmed by the joint chief of staff" of Jordan's armed forces, the minister said of General Mohammed al-Zaben Meshaal, who was at his side during a news conference in the Iraqi capital.

General Zaben, who also advises King Abdullah II, said he was in Baghdad to bring a message from the king that "we are in the same boat as our Iraqi brothers".

"We will do everything to defeat this group," he added.

Their statements came a week after the Islamic State group released a video in which the jihadists burned alive a Jordanian pilot captured in December when his fighter jet went down in Syria.

Jordan, a member of the US-led coalition waging air strikes against IS, promised a harsh response and has expanded its role in the campaign to include Iraq as well as Syria since the murder of pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh.