Unmasked, a fifth member of British IS ‘Beatles’ gang
A FIFTH member of the British Islamic State execution gang known as ‘The Beatles’ was unmasked last night.
Hudaifa Elgerbouzi, of west London, stayed under the radar for many years despite being the first Briton to join the IS terror group in Syria, days after its formation six years ago.
Fellow fighters in the jihadi stronghold knew him only as ‘ Red Beard’ after he masked his face, but kept his gingery whiskers on show, and deleted any online trace of his previous life back in Britain.
But he was a senior IS figure, ITV News reported, directly involved in kidnapping Western hostages and believed to be a member of the all-British team responsible for high-profile executions.
Elgerbouzi was friends with ‘Beatle’ Alexanda Kotey in west London, it was said, before both travelled to Syria to join the self-proclaimed caliphate.
Kotey is currently in a Syrian jail alongside El Shafee Elsheikh, who also grew up in London. Both have had their British citizenships revoked by the Government.
They, along with Mohammed Emwazi, also known as ‘Jihadi John’, were part of a group called ‘The Beatles’ by captives due to their British accents. There has been speculation over the true number of members of the group which beheaded Westerners on camera, because prisoners never saw the men’s faces. Officials believe Arsenal-supporting Elgerbouzi was killed during fighting in Syria last year, while Emwazi died in a drone strike.
‘He was a psychopath trying to fulfil his violent and criminal fantasies with God’s stamp of approval,’ a friend in Syria told ITV News as he spoke of Elgerbouzi’s ‘unquestioning commitment’ to IS.
‘The killing of Western hostages, I don’t know about, but the kidnapping and the captivity of these men, I am fairly sure he was [involved],’ he added.