King Abdullah of Jordan ready for action against Isis — but he won't actually be fighting

Abdullah is a trained attack helicopter pilot and ran Jordan's special forces

King Abdullah of Jordan has been pictured in military gear (Facebook)

Illustrating Jordan's intention to avenge the murder of pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh by Isis, King Abdullah has been photographed in full military kit, striking a pose like a Hollywood action star.

The picture, posted on the Royal Hashemite Court's Facebook page, gave rise to rumours that Abdullah himself would participate in the planned bombing of Isis targets.

The King, a qualified helicopter pilot, was trained as an army officer at Sandhurst, and served in the British army before running Jordan's special forces in the 1990s.

Post by The Royal Hashemite Court.

The Royal Court yesterday said such rumours were "not true" but the image and fantasy had already taken off online — a fine PR move by the massively popular monarch.

The story is enhanced by reports of what he said in Washington DC right before cutting his visit short to attend to the crisis at home.

Talking to US congressmen on Tuesday night, King Abdullah is said to have quoted a scene in the Clint Eastwood film Unforgiven in which the hero says he will go on a rampage.

Abdullah, who had tried to negotiate a prisoner trade for Kasaesbeh, this week authorised air strikes against Isis following the release of a video showing the pilot's immolation.

Dozens of Jordanian fighter jets have launched bombing raids on Isis targets, hitting what are believed to have been training centres and weapons caches.

A statement read on Jordanian state television declared: “This the beginning and you will get to know the Jordanians.”