IS victims’ families praise court’s US trial ruling

FAMILIES of men allegedly killed by two British suspected IS terrorists have welcomed the news they are now likely to go on trial in the US.

No date has yet been set for when Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, both in their thirties and from west London, will appear in court over the brutal killings of British and US citizens, which were among many filmed and beamed around the world in gruesome detail by so-called Islamic State.

Elsheikh and Kotey are accused of belonging to a cell of executioners in Syria known as The Beatles because of their British accents, and are said to be responsible for killing a number of Western captives including Britons Alan Henning and David Haines.

The victims’ families, in a statement from charity Hostage International, described a High Court ruling allowing the UK to share case information with US authorities as a “huge result for us”.

They added: “We have only ever wanted to see these two men being held accountable and brought to justice through a fair trial for their alleged actions.”

The statement was also issued on behalf of the family of British photojournalist John Cantlie, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012 and remains missing – although reports emerged last year that suggested the UK Government has evidence he is still alive.

Jessica Pocock, Mr Cantlie’s sister, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme her family “only ever wanted these two (Kotey and Elsheikh) to face justice”.

She said: “We feel we all have to stand accountable for our actions.

“At times we felt absolutely desperate as to whether the legal system was ever going to be able to bring these two to justice – wherever they may be.”