The identity of the militant known as “Jihadi John,” who spoke with a clearly identifiable British accent in videos depicting the decapitation of hostages captured by the group, had been a mystery to international law enforcement organizations trying to figure out who was behind the organization in an effort to prevent future victimizations.
Emwazi’s identity was revealed by British newspapers, according to the Reuters news service.
Emwazi, 26, is the militant seen apparently beheading U.S. hostage James Foley in Iraq in August in a video
released by the Islamic State group, Reuters said.
Emwazi also is suspected in the deaths of hostages from England and Syria, Reuters said.
In the videos, Emwazi — wearing black with a balaclava that covered all but his eyes and top of his nose — also threatened the west and taunted U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron in front of miserable-looking hostages wearing orange jumpsuits.
U.S. and British intelligence agencies used high-tech investigative techniques, including voice and facial facial recognition, and interviewed former hostages to try to identify Emwazi, Reuters said.
But the intelligence community tried to avoid naming Emwazi out of fear of making him more difficult to catch, Reuters said, with some intelligence sources telling Reuters that release of his name had made them uneasy.
No one answered the door at either of two west London addressed listed for Emwazi, and neighbors described the people who lived there as “normal” and “friendly,” Reuters said.
Asim Qureshi, research director of the nonprofit Cage organization that supports people detained on terrorism charges, told Reuters that Britain’s MI5 intelligence agency had tried to recruit Emwazi, who spoke fluent Arabic, and then blocked him from leaving the country when he refused to join.
Emwazi fled to Syria in 2012, Qureshi said.
MI5 declined to confirm Emwazi’s identity, standard procedure for the agency during an investigation, Reuters said.
“We don’t confirm or deny matters relating to intelligence,” a Cameron spokeswoman told Reuters.
The Islamic State group may seem to have recently burst on the scene but it actually was created in 1999, although it did not achieve prominence until 2006.
In 2006, Islamic State merged with al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni groups to form what would become known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
The group broke with al-Qaida last year.
But ISIL militants started capturing Iraqi and Syrian territory in what they claim is a drive to establish an Islamic country.
Their conquests, which include Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, have been marked by violence, brutality and forced conversions to Islam.
More than a half-million Iraqis fled the battle for Mosul, and ISIL also controls major portions of Syria north and west of Baghdad.
