Captured Isis ‘Beatles’ will face justice, pledges US
UNITED States officials have pledged to hold terrorists accountable following the capture of two Britons suspected of having been part of the Islamic State extremist group dubbed “The Beatles”.
Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are currently being held in Syria after their capture by Kurdish militia fighters last month and a US Department of Defence (DoD) spokesman said they are “still considering options” for the pair.
Along with Mohammed Emwazi — the killer nicknamed Jihadi John — and Aine Davis, they are thought to have been part of a group named after the band because of their English accents.
The four Londoners were linked to a string of hostage murders in Iraq and Syria during the bloody Islamist uprising.
US officials said Kotey and Elsheikh “are suspected to have participated in the detention, exploitation and execution of Western detainees”.
Asked if they would be prosecuted and, if so, where they might face trial, Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway from the DoD said: “We are still considering options regarding Elsheikh and Kotey, but rest assured our intention is to hold anyone accountable who commits acts like those they are alleged to have committed.”
Relatives of those slaughtered by the jihadist group said they hoped the pair would be brought to justice.
Bethany Haines, whose father David was killed in 2014 after being held captive for 18 months, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain she would like the pair to be “locked up with the key thrown away” and is hopeful their capture will bring closure to bereaved families.
French journalist Nicolas Henin, who was held hostage by IS, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme they should be returned to Britain to be “judged fairly in their home country”.
Diane Foley, mother of murdered US journalist James, told the programme she would like them to be brought to trial in America.