ISIS confirms death of ‘Jihadi John
Story highlights
- Jihadi John is also known as Mohammed Emwazi and Abu Muharib al-Muhajir
- He was featured in a series of hostage videos
- The confirmation in Dabiq magazine was the first time ISIS addressed the militant’s death
U.S. officials said in November that they were reasonably certain the English-speaking voice of the terror group had been killed in a targeted drone strike in Raqqa, Syria, ISIS’ de facto capital.
The confirmation in Dabiq was the first time ISIS addressed the militant’s death.
As the masked face of ISIS, Jihadi John was featured in a series of hostage videos, dressed head-to-toe in black — his eyes and voice his lone revealing features — and holding a knife.
Earlier this month, a British-sounding militant appeared in a chilling propaganda video from ISIS. The speaker’s accent and dress brought to mind Jihadi John, and the latter’s absence lent credence to Western intelligence agencies’ belief that he was indeed dead
Dabiq published an image of Jihadi John with his face unmasked, along with an obituary.
It reported he was originally from the northeast of the Arabian Peninsula, and that he traveled at a young age with his family to London, a place he “grew to hate.”
******The British ISIS militant known as “Jihadi John” died in a drone strike in Syria, Islamic State media has confirmed.
The terror group has published a eulogy for the militant – real name Mohammed Emwazi – in its Dabiq magazine, saying he was killed on 12 November in their Syrian stronghold of Raqqa.
The statement backs up US officials who have said they are “99% sure” he was killed in a US strike.
Emwazi appeared in a string of IS videos showing the execution of foreign hostages.
Islamic State said he died “as the car he was in was targeted in a strike by an unmanned drone in the city of Raqqa, destroying the car and killing him instantly”.
Emwazi, a British citizen of Arab origin, was described by his nickname “Abu Muharib al-Muhajir”.
He was first seen, his face covered, in a video in August 2014 which showed the beheading of US journalist James Foley.
He went on to appear in numerous other execution videos, including those in which UK hostages Alan Henning and David Haines were killed.
He also featured in videos showing the killings of American journalist Steven Sotloff, aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto.
Emwazi was born in Kuwait and moved to the UK with his family when was six. He attended state schools, then studied computer science at the University of Westminster before leaving for Syria in 2013.
He and three other ISIS militants with British accents were nicknamed “the Beatles” by some of their captives.
