Death Of Jihadi John Confirmed By Isis

The death of “Jihadi John” or Abu Muharib al-Muhajir, aka Mohammed Emwazi was confirmed by ISIS.

US officials revealed his death in November following a targeted drone strike in the de facto capital of the terror group, Raqqa, Syria. The confirmation on the latest issue of the Dabiq magazine si the first time the death of the militant was addressed by ISIS. A two-page article on the magazine gave the story of the journey of the militant into ISIS. The magazine also indicated that the drone strike killed him instantaneously.

A British-sounding militant was featured on a propaganda video of ISIS earlier this month. The accent brought to mind Emwazi and his absence gave credibility to the belief of Western Intelligence agencies of his death. An image of the militant without a mask was also published on the magazine.

Original reports indicated that Jihadi John was from the northeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. His family traveled to London, which he supposedly grew to hate. The magazine indicated that he sustained a back injury during a battle in Syria.

Emwazi said he was born in Kuwait and reportedly moved to London when he was still a child. The Washington Post reported that his radicalization started when he went to Tanzania for a safari in 2009.

Death Of Jihadi John Confirmed By Isis - image credit: mirror.co.uk

However, when he arrived in the East African country, he was detained and held overnight before he was deported. In 2010, British counterterrorism officials also detained him. Officials did not reveal the reasons why he was detained.

While he was absent from some videos in 2015, Jihadi John was supposedly hiding close to Raqqa, according to US officials. He was reportedly hiding since he was afraid of being targeted but US officials believe he was still involved in killing and kidnapping cells.

He was described by analysts as a grotesque individual fond of cruel torture methods. One former hostage recounted that his captor forced him to dance with him.

Twenty-six-year-old photographer Daniel Rye said he suddenly changed and pushed him down. His captor also hit and kicked him, and ended by threatening to use a pair of pliers to cut off his nose.

Evidence does not show that Emwazi was as important as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. There are also no indications that he had a significant military role within the terror group. However, he was considered as a celebrity within the group.

His first appearance was on a YouTube video in August 2014 showing him holding a knife while threatening American journalist James Foley. JIhadi John is believed to have played a significant role in the beheadings of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, British volunteer Alan Henning, British aid worker David Haines, US journalist Steven Sotloff and US aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday January 20 2016, 9:10 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0