they all grew up in west London, and all wound up in the comparable cellular phone of the Islamic State staff guarding, torturing and killing hostages in Syria and Iraq.
Now, the final members of the crowd dubbed the “Beatles” by way of their hostages, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, had been arrested by means of Syrian Kurdish fighters.
The team of four British men were radicalised in the UNITED KINGDOM earlier than travelling to Syria, where they changed into notorious for their prime-profile executions of Western hostages.
US officers believe the “execution cell” beheaded more than 27 Western hostages and tortured many extra.
Each was recognized to their hostages by way of their respective Beatles moniker – Paul, Ringo, John and George.
Symbol copyright unknown Image caption Emwazi, idea to be the crowd’s ringleader, was killed after an extensive manhunt in 2015
Mohammed Emwazi, dubbed Jihadi John in the media, fronted a bunch of IS propaganda videos the place Western hostages had been proven accomplished.
Born in Kuwait, his family moved to the uk whilst he was six years antique in 1988. He used to be trained in north London, and graduated from the University of Westminster in 2009 in pc programming.
While within the UK, he got here beneath surveillance from UNITED KINGDOM intelligence services and products after travelling to Tanzania and Kuwait. He was once associated with a host of high-profile suspected jihadists that MI5 have been tracking.
His family suggested him lacking in 2013. During 2014 he appeared in number of videos, with his face disguised, the place Western hostages including US journalist James Foley and UK help staff David Haines and Alan Henning looked as if it would be beheaded.
The remaining recognized video look from him used to be January 2015. A top target for intelligence products and services, he was once killed in a US drone strike on 12 November that year.
Learn more on Emwazi
Symbol copyright HO via Met administrative center Image caption Davis used to be jailed for seven-and-a-half years in Turkey remaining 12 months
Aine Davis used to be arrested close to Istanbul in 2015, and convicted in Turkey in 2017 of being a senior member of a terrorist company.
Again in London he had lived in Hammersmith. He had a host of drug convictions and was jailed in 2006 for possessing a firearm.
After converting to Islam, he changed his title to Hamza and met Emwazi. the two were part of a group that radicalised Muslims living in London. He left the united kingdom to join the IS in 2013.
After being arrested he denied being part of the terror group, or “the Beatles” cellular phone.
Learn more on Davis.
Image caption Kotey used to be one among men reportedly “unmasked” through media stories in 2016
Alexanda Kotey is of Ghanaian and Greek Cypriot background, and attended the same al-Manaar mosque in west London as Emwazi.
He used to be defined through neighbours as “quiet and humble” and a devoted fan of the Queens Park Rangers soccer team, the Buzzfeed information website online said.
He was known as one in every of the crowd via the us state division, which stated he used to be more likely to were a recruiter of UK nationals to the group.
US officers have mentioned that he and fourth member El Shafee Elsheikh have been captured through contributors of the u.s.-sponsored Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are concentrated on remnants of IS.
Image caption El Shafee Elsheikh is alleged to have earned a reputation for “waterboarding, mock executions and crucifixions”
Each Elsheikh and Kotey are exact as terrorists by means of the us state division, who link them to the gang’s executions and “primarily cruel torture methods” together with electric shocks, waterboarding and mock executions.
The son of Sudanese refugees, Elsheikh went to Syria in 2012 and joined al-Qaeda there earlier than aligning himself with IS, the new York Occasions reviews.
The Men have been mentioned to had been detained in mid-January after Kurdish combatants suspected they had been foreign fighters. Their identities are stated to were showed by means of the u.s. the use of biometric testing including fingerprints.
News of their arrest emerged initially in US media, ahead of being confirmed by officers.
More on the Warfare on Syria:
The Upward Thrust and Fall of the IS propaganda system How I divorced Islamic State Why is there a warfare in Syria?