The United States is readying plans to resupply Jordan with munitions in the coming weeks, possibly including precision-guided arms, expediting support for the kingdom as it expands its role in airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS), officials say.
The State Department and Pentagon declined comment on any future moves to assist Jordan with requests for weapons. But several U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that planning was well underway to help replenish Jordan's supplies of ordnance.
U.S. efforts to expedite delivery of munitions and other weapons follow a vocal appeal from Jordan's King Abdullah to American lawmakers last week for greater U.S. support.
A source close to the Jordanian government told Reuters the kingdom believed its supplies of bombs are being stretched too thin as it expands its role in strikes following the Islamic State's grisly execution of a Jordanian pilot.
Islamic State's release of a video early this month showing pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh burnt alive in a cage has triggered a public backlash in Jordan and sharpened the focus of Arab allies contributing to the war effort.
Jordan is among a group of Arab countries, which includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, that have joined U.S. air strikes on IS, which controls large swathes of Iraq and Syria. The UAE this week said it had resumed its airstrikes on IS.
The Pentagon estimated that Jordan dropped 72 bombs in the first wave of its revenge strikes in Syria last week. The kingdom renewed its bombing raids on Thursday.