Jihadist death group ‘The Beatles’ have been captured
TWO British jihadists linked to the death of Salford humanitarian Alan Henning have been reportedly captured in Syria.
Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are believed to be members of the Islamic State’s executions group dubbed ‘The Beatles’ due to their English accents.
They are understood to have been detained by US-allied Kurdish militia fighters last month, the New York Times (NYT) has reported.
Along with Mohammed Emwazi – the killer nicknamed Jihadi John – and Aine Davis, the four British jihadists have been linked to a string of hostage murders in Iraq and Syria during the Islamic State uprising.
They are thought to be responsible for the murder of two dozen hostages, including Mr Henning, from Salford, who was captured by IS militants in December 2013 and killed 10 months later.
Eccles cabbie Mr Henning, 47, was taking aid to Syria when he was kidnapped.
Unnamed US Officials told the NYT that Kotey, 34, and Elsheikh, 29, were captured by the Kurdishled Syrian Democratic Forces which were fighting the last remaining pockets of IS fighters near the river Euphrates on the Iraq/Syria border.
It added that the men were identified by fingerprints and other biometric means.
Former child refugee Elsheikh was a mechanic from White City in west London, and Kotey was from Paddington.
In January 2017, US authorities named Kotey as a member of the cell and said they had imposed sanctions on him.
In a statement at the time, the State Department said Kotey was “one of four members of an execution cell for... the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil)”. It went on: “The notorious cell, dubbed ‘The Beatles’ and once headed by now-deceased Mohamed Emwazi (also known as Jihadi John), is responsible for holding captive and beheading approximately two dozen hostages, including several Westerners. Among them American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and American aid worker Peter Kassig. “As a guard for the cell, Kotey likely engaged in the group’s executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding. “Kotey has also acted as an Isil recruiter and is responsible for recruiting several UK nationals to join the terrorist organisation.”
Elsheikh, it said, ‘was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions, and crucifixions while serving as an Isis jailer.’
Emwazi, who was killed in a US air strike in 2015, appeared in a number of videos in which captives including British aid workers David Haines and Mr Henning were murdered. The fourth member, Davis, was convicted of being a member of a terrorist organisation and jailed for seven-and-a-half years at a court in Silivri, Turkey, in May 2017.
The Foreign Office said it did not comment on individual cases or ongoing investigations.
The notorious cell, dubbed ‘The Beatles’, is responsible for beheading two dozen hostages State Department