videos has been identified as Mohammed Emwazi, a British computer
programming graduate from a well-to-do London family who was known to
the security services.
The black-clad militant brandishing a knife and speaking with an
English accent was shown in videos released by Islamic State (IS)
apparently decapitating hostages including Americans, Britons and
Syrians.
The 26-year-old militant used the videos to threaten the West,
admonish its Arab allies and taunt President Barack Obama and British
Prime Minister David Cameron before petrified hostages cowering in
orange jump suits.
Emwazi's name was first disclosed by the Washington Post, citing
unidentified former associates. Two U.S. government sources who spoke
on condition of anonymity confirmed to Reuters that investigators
believed Jihadi John was Emwazi.
Dressed entirely in black, a balaclava covering all but his eyes and
the bridge of his nose and a holster under his left arm, Jihadi John
became a menacing symbol of Islamic State brutality and one of the
world's most wanted men.
Hostages called him John as he and other Britons in Islamic State had
been nicknamed the Beatles.
Emwazi was born in Kuwait but came to Britain aged 6 and graduated
with a computer programming degree from the University of Westminster
before coming to the attention of Britain's main domestic intelligence
service, MI5, according to an account given by Asim Qureshi, the
research director of the Cage charity that campaigns for those
detained on terrorism charges.
Emwazi, a fluent Arabic speaker, said MI5 had tried to recruit him and
then prevented him from traveling abroad, forcing him to flee abroad
without telling his family, Qureshi told a news conference in London.
Emwazi traveled to Syria around 2012, Qureshi said.
MI5 does not publicly comment on the identity of militants or their
backgrounds while an investigation is still ongoing. The British
government and police declined to confirm or deny Emwazi's identity,
citing an ongoing security investigation.
"We don't confirm or deny matters relating to intelligence," said a
spokeswoman for Cameron, who has ordered spy agencies and soldiers to
track down the killer.
MOST WANTED MAN
"Jihadi John" rose to notoriety in August 2014 when a video appeared
showing a masked man raging against the United States before
apparently beheading U.S. citizen James Foley off camera.
Intelligence services in the United States and Britain used a variety
of investigative techniques including voice and facial recognition as
well as interviews with former hostages to identify the man,
intelligence sources said.
But security officials made great efforts to avoid publicly naming
Emwazi, fearing that would make him more difficult to catch. Two
intelligence sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said they
were uneasy that the name had been revealed.
There was no answer at two addresses in west London where Emwazi was
listed to have lived. Neighbors described the family as "normal
people" and "friendly".
"This is the first time anything like this happens in this
neighborhood," said Fatima Al-Baqali. "We have to be careful now. I
didn't know this family and I usually know everyone here."
"JIHADI JOHN"
Qureshi, of the Cage charity which describes itself as having
campaigned against the 'War on Terror' for more than a decade, said
that although he could not be certain Emwazi was John, there were some
"striking similarities". He declined to elaborate.
In a meeting with reporters in London, Qureshi painted a picture of a
kind and thoughtful young man who faced harassment from MI5, which
apparently suspected he wanted to join the Somali Islamist militant
group al Shabaab.
British authorities have linked Emwazi to another British militant
killed in Somalia in a U.S. drone attack.
A British court ruling dated December 2011 reported that Elwazi was an
associate of Bilal al Berjawi, a high-ranking leader of the
Somali-based militant group al Shabaab, a person in possession of the
court ruling said.
Reuters has not seen the original court ruling. Media reports said he
helped supervise the recruitment and training of new Shabaab members.
Qureshi said British spies had tried to recruit Emwazi as a source but
declined to provide specifics.
"There's one character that I remember, one kind person that I
remember and then I see that image and there doesn't seem to be a
correlation between the two," Qureshi told reporters.
"I feel like a prisoner, only not in a cage, in London..," Emwazi
wrote in an email to Cage.
--Reuters
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