Jihadi John

Mohammed Emwazi (born Muhammad Jassim Abdulkarim Olayan al-Dhafiri; ), commonly referred to as Jihadi John (17 August 1988 – 12 November 2015), was a British militant of Kuwaiti origin seen in several videos produced by the Islamist extremist group Islamic State (IS) showing the beheadings of a number of captives in 2014 and 2015 . A group of his hostages nicknamed him "John" since he was part of a four-person terrorist cell with English accents whom they called 'The Beatles'; the press later began calling him "Jihadi John". His death was confirmed by IS in January 2016. on 17 August 1988 in Kuwait to Jassem and Ghaneyah Emwazi. The family moved to the United Kingdom in 1994 when he was six. They settled in inner west London, moving between several properties in Maida Vale, later living in St John's Wood and finally in Queen's Park. Emwazi attended St Mary Magdalene Church of England primary school, and later Quintin Kynaston School. According to his former headteacher, Emwazi experienced some bullying at school.

In 2006, he went to the University of Westminster, studying Information Systems with Business Management. He secured a lower second-class Bachelor of Science honours degree on graduation three years later. The Home Secretary stripped him of his British citizenship after going on the run to Somalia. The case prompted former British shadow home secretary David Davis to criticise the approach of UK intelligence services, noting "the numbers who appear to have 'slipped through the net.

Nicknames Emwazi was given the nickname "John" by a group of his hostages. The hostages said that he guarded Western hostages while handling communications with their families, and was part of a terrorist cell they called 'The Beatles' because the cell members all had British accents. The nickname refers to John Lennon of the Beatles; the three other group members were each given the first name of one of the other Beatles.

The nicknames "Jihadi John", "Jailer John" and "John the Beatle" were created by journalists. and soon after joined by the BBC and other sources.

Victims

The following are reported victims of Jihadi John:

James Foley

In a video uploaded to YouTube on 19 August 2014, Foley read a prepared statement criticising the United States, the recent airstrikes in Iraq, and his brother who serves in the US Air Force. The FBI and US National Security Council confirmed that the video, which included footage of Foley's beheaded corpse, was genuine. The White House confirmed the video's authenticity.

David Haines

On 13 September 2014, a video, directed at British Prime Minister David Cameron, was released, showing British hostage aid worker David Haines being beheaded by Emwazi.

Alan Henning

On 3 October 2014, a video released by IS showed Emwazi beheading British aid worker Alan Henning. Henning, a taxi driver from Salford, Greater Manchester, had volunteered to deliver aid to Syria. He was kidnapped in Al-Dana, an area held then by IS, on 27 December 2013.

Peter Kassig

On 16 November 2014, a video was posted by IS of Emwazi standing over a severed head, which the White House confirmed was that of Peter Kassig. Kassig did not make a statement, and unlike earlier hostage beheading videos. There has been speculation that, faced with the prospect of being beheaded, he may have resisted and been shot dead: a surgeon performed a detailed examination of the video and noted possible evidence of a gunshot wound.

Syrian soldiers The video that ended with a shot of Kassig's severed head showed the beheadings of a number of Syrian soldiers in gruesome detail, by a group led by a masked Emwazi. It was said by the BBC that, unlike previous videos, this one shows the faces of many of the militants, indicates the location as being Dabiq in Aleppo Province, and that this video "revels in gore." Unlike previous videos that cut away without showing the killing, Emwazi is shown beheading a victim. Initially, the number killed was variously reported as at least 12, or 18.

Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto

, age 42, was captured sometime before August 2014. Kenji Goto, age 47, was captured sometime in October 2014 while trying to rescue Yukawa. In January 2015, a threat was issued that they would be killed unless the Japanese government paid a ransom of . Yukawa was beheaded on 24 January, and Goto on 31 January 2015.

Analysis of videos Officially the FBI and US National Security Council confirmed that the James Foley video, which ended with footage of a beheaded corpse, was genuine.

An unnamed forensics expert commissioned by The Times to look at the James Foley video said, "I think it has been staged. My feeling is that the murder may have happened after the camera was stopped." The Times concluded that "No one is questioning that the photojournalist James Foley was beheaded, but camera trickery and slick post-production techniques appear to have been used." Two unnamed video specialists in the International Business Times of Australia claimed that portions of the video appeared to be staged and edited. James Alvarez, a British-American hostage negotiator, also claimed the James Foley video was "expertly staged", with the use of two separate cameras and a clip-on microphone attached to Foley's orange jumpsuit.

British analyst Eliot Higgins (Brown Moses) published photographic and video forensic evidence suggesting that the James Foley video was taken at a spot in the hills south of the Syrian city of Raqqa.

Identification and manhunt

Search for identity and early speculation

"Jihadi John" became the subject of a manhunt by the FBI, MI5, and Scotland Yard. In his videos, "Jihadi John" concealed his identity by covering himself from head to toe in black, except for tan desert boots, with a mask that left only his eyes visible. but his actions in the videos suggest he is left-handed.

Other factors that could have led to his identification were his height, general physique, the pattern of veins on the back of his hands, On 24 August 2014, the British Ambassador to the United States, Sir Peter Westmacott, said that Britain was very close to identifying "Jihadi John" using sophisticated voice recognition technology, but when pressed, refused to disclose any other details.

On 20 September 2014, the United States Senate approved a reward for information that led to the capture of anyone involved in the murders of James Foley, Steven Sotloff and David Cawthorne Haines. On 20 November, the bill, extending the potential scope of the reward program to any American kidnapped and murdered by a "foreign terrorist organization" and limiting the reward to a maximum of , was referred to the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

On 14 September, British Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed that the identity of "Jihadi John" was known but had yet to be revealed.

On 25 September, FBI Director James Comey told reporters that they had identified the suspect, but did not give information regarding the man's identity or nationality. "I believe that we have identified him. I'm not going to tell you who I believe it is," Comey stated. Michael Ryan, an author and scholar from the Middle East Institute speculated, "maybe 98 percent or 95 percent sure is not sure enough to put a man's name out." Other sources also stated that Abu Hussain Al-Britani, 20, a computer hacker from Birmingham, and Abu Abdullah al-Britani, in his 20s from Portsmouth, were suspects.

Mohammed Emwazi On 26 February 2015, The Washington Post identified the perpetrator as Mohammed Emwazi, a British man then in his mid-20s who was born in Kuwait and grew up in west London. The Washington Post investigation was undertaken by Souad Mekhennet and Adam Goldman. He reportedly prayed on occasion at a mosque in Greenwich. His last known UK address was in Queen's Park, North London.

Later, Emwazi and his friends were permitted to return to Britain, where Emwazi met with Qureshi in late 2009. The Post quoted Qureshi as saying that Emwazi was "incensed" at the way he had been treated. Emwazi moved to Kuwait shortly afterward, where (according to emails he wrote to Qureshi), he worked for a computer company. Emwazi returned to London twice, however, and, on the second visit, he made plans to wed a woman in Kuwait. meanwhile, his father denied that this had happened or that Emwazi was Jihadi John.

Reactions United States President Barack Obama condemned the actions of "Jihadi John" and vowed punishment for all the militants responsible for the videotaped beheadings. US Secretary of State John Kerry also called "Jihadi John" a "coward behind a mask" and, echoing Obama, stated that all those responsible would be held accountable by the United States. Prime Minister David Cameron also stated that he was absolutely certain that Jihadi John would "one way or another, face justice", and he also condemned the actions of "Jihadi John". UK Justice Secretary Chris Grayling, and Secretary General of Interpol Ronald Noble also stated that Jihadi John should be brought to justice.

Reacting to the naming of Emwazi by the media, a representative for the Sotloff family told the BBC that they would wish to see Emwazi imprisoned. Bethany Haines, daughter of David, said "It's a good step but I think all the families will feel closure and relief once there's a bullet between his eyes."

Lord Carlile, a former independent reviewer of UK anti-terror laws, said, "Had control orders been in place, in my view there is a realistic prospect that Mohammed Emwazi, and at least two of his associates, would have been the subject of control orders with a compulsory relocation."

In reaction to the revelation, Emwazi's father, Jassem, has said that he is ashamed of his son. Previously, when he learned from his son that he was going to Syria "for jihad", Jassem had told him that he hoped he would be killed. But the day after the naming he issued a statement denying that his son was Jihadi John.

On 8 March 2015, according to The Sunday Times, Emwazi apologised for "problems and trouble the revelation of his identity has caused" his family, but he expressed no remorse for his victims. The message was conveyed via an unspecified third party.

Death On 12 November 2015, two United States drone aircraft along with a British drone conducted an airstrike in Raqqa. The target was Emwazi. The strike was timed while he was leaving a building and entering a vehicle. A US official called it a "flawless" and "clean hit" with no collateral damage and that Emwazi was "evaporated." and a senior US military official was quoted as saying, "we are 99% sure we got him."

UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, stated the UK and the US had been working "hand in glove, round the clock" to track Emwazi's location, and that the drone strike was "an act of self-defence."

On 19 January 2016, in the IS magazine Dabiq, the Islamic State confirmed that Emwazi had been killed by a drone strike in Raqqa. The obituary showed him unmasked and referred to him as Abu Muharib al-Muhajir. Further photographs showing him unmasked in Syria were released on 26 January 2016.

Later events In July 2017, German-based journalist Souad Mekhennet published I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad, which details the hunt to identify and kill Jihadi John, in part through her own investigations. She was the lead reporter of a story, published in The Washington Post, that first revealed his true identity.

In September 2017, The Telegraph released old video footage showing Mohammed Emwazi and other IS members relaxing unmasked and talking casually.