Jordan has vowed to make every effort to save a pilot captured by the Islamic State group in Syria as Washington denied claims the jihadists had shot down his warplane.
Maaz al-Kassasbeh, a 26-year-old first lieutenant in the Jordanian air force, was captured by IS on Wednesday after his F-16 jet crashed while on a mission against the jihadists over northern Syria.
It was the first warplane lost and the first capture of a serviceman since the coalition launched strikes against IS in Syria in September.
It was also a major propaganda victory for the Sunni extremist group, which released several photographs parading the captured pilot.
"The Jordanian government... is making all efforts ... to free (the pilot)," government daily Al-Rai said in an editorial Thursday.
"We are confident that our brave one will be released... He has not been forgotten."
Jordan, along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, has joined the US-led coalition carrying out air strikes against IS after it seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq.
Kassasbeh's plane went down near the city of Raqqa, which IS has used as its de facto capital and where coalition warplanes have carried out regular strikes.
The jihadists and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed the plane was brought down by an anti-aircraft missile, raising concerns for other coalition planes flying in the area.
But the US military dismissed the claim, saying "evidence clearly suggests that ISIL did not down the aircraft", using another name for IS.
"We strongly condemn the actions of ISIL, which has taken captive the downed pilot," US Central Command chief General Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
"We will support efforts to ensure his safe recovery, and will not tolerate ISIL's attempts to misrepresent or exploit this unfortunate aircraft crash for their own purposes."
Jordan's parliament said in a statement Thursday that it would hold IS "responsible for safeguarding the life" of Kassasbeh, describing him as a "hero".
The pilot's father was quoted by Jordanian media calling on IS to show "mercy" on his son, who just married in July, and to release him.
Messages of support for the pilot flooded Facebook and Twitter under the hashtag "We are all Maaz al-Kassasbeh".
An activist in Raqqa said IS militants were divided over the fate of the pilot, with more extremist foreign fighters wanting him executed and others wanting him kept alive.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed for the pilot's captors to treat him "in accordance with international humanitarian laws", a statement said.
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