Mohammed Emwazi, known as "Jihadi John,
A member of a British cohort within the Islamic State that oversaw the brutal detention and beheading of Western hostages in Syria has been identified as Alexanda Kotey, a 32-year-old convert to Islam who grew up in West London.
Kotey is the second militant among the group of Islamic State jailers to be named following the unmasking last year by The Washington Post of “Jihadi John” as Mohammed Emwazi — the infamous masked man, also a West Londoner, who beheaded American, British and Japanese hostages on video as he taunted Western leaders.
Emwazi, 27, was killed in a drone strike in November in Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria, along with another unidentified man. It is unclear whether that second man was also one of the four guards who watched over and tortured Western hostages and were nicknamed the “Beatles” by their prisoners because of their English accents.
[‘Jihadi John’: Islamic State killer is identified as Londoner Mohammed Emwazi]
Kotey, of Ghanaian and Greek Cypriot background, was identified through a joint Post and BuzzFeed News investigation. His name was confirmed by a U.S. intelligence official and other people familiar with British nationals in Syria, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Kotey’s family in London declined to comment, as did British security officials.
It’s not clear whether Kotey was the guard known as “Ringo” or “George.” A fourth, Paul, played a smaller role in the group and did not appear until later in the detention of some of those held by the Islamic State. Kotey’s current whereabouts are unknown.
European hostages who were released after their governments paid ransom said the four Britons always wore masks in their presence. Of all the guards, the Britons were the cruelest, former hostages said, subjecting the prisoners to regular beatings, waterboarding and mock executions.
A Danish hostage, Daniel Rye, who was released in June 2014, recounted in a memoir how Ringo viciously kicked him 25 times in his ribs on his 25th birthday. His captors said it was a gift. George, according to Rye, was the most violent and unpredictable and also dominated the group of jailers.
