14 missed chances to stop ISIS ‘Beatles’

MEMBERS of the vile Islamic State execution gang dubbed ‘the Beatles’ were arrested or flagged by authorities at least 14 times before joining the terror group in Syria.

Court papers filed by prosecutors in America reportedly detail a shocking catalogue of missed opportunities to stop the four jihadis from London before they embarked on their murderous spree. The cell, led by Mohammed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John, abducted and beheaded at least 27 Western hostages, including Scot David Haines and fellow British aid worker Alan Henning.

The documents reveal that Alexanda Kotey, who was known by terrified captives as Ringo, and El Shafee Elsheikh, who was nicknamed George, were involved in drug dealing, theft and other crimes before joining ISIS. Kotey, 37, who last week pleaded guilty to a string of terrorism offences, made it to Syria after three attempts, having been arrested on an earlier occasion at St Pancras train station with a knife and a plane ticket from Barcelona to Turkey, according to The Sunday Times.

Prosecutors say he and Elsheikh, 33, who is due to stand trial in America, first came to the attention of the authorities through their involvement in ‘illicit drug sales’ in London.

Both men were also arrested during clashes with thugs from the English Defence League in London on September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

The papers show that Emwazi was blocked from boarding a flight at Heathrow and found carrying a book about guerrilla warfare in Afghanistan. The fanatic, who was killed in a drone strike in November 2015, was also stopped and flagged by authorities after attempting to board flights to Kuwait from Heathrow in 2010 and 2012.

Kotey and Elsheikh were captured by Kurdish forces in 2018.

The fourth member of the cell, Aine Davis – known as Jihadi Paul – was jailed in Turkey in 2017 after being convicted of being a senior ISIS operative.