While UK says there is ‘high degree of certainty’ that the US airstrike in Syria has killed the ISIS terrorist, American military is ‘almost’ sure of it
London: Notorious British Islamic State terrorist Mohammed Emwazi, known as ‘Jihadi John’, who appeared in gruesome propaganda videos executing hostages, is believed to have been killed in a US drone strike in Syria.
ADVERTISEMENT
Emwazi participated in videos showing murders of US journalists, British and US aid workers, and a number of other hostages. Pic/AFP
While the Pentagon is assessing whether the extremist was killed in the military action carried out in Syria, 10 Downing Street has indicated that there is a “high degree of certainty” that he was killed in the attack.
Reports from the US said the American military was 99 per cent certain that he had been killed in a drone strike. 10 Downing Street and UK Ministry of Defence sources were marginally less certain in their response to the reports of his death than US sources, but added there was a “high degree of certainty” that he has been killed.
A spokesperson added that the UK military had been working “hand in glove” with the US on the operation.
Announcing details of the strike, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook, said, “US forces conducted an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, on November 12, 2015 targeting Mohamed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John.”
“We are reasonably certain that we killed the target that we intended to kill, which is Jihadi John,” said Colonel Steven Warren, spokesman for the US military operation against ISIS.
Emwazi participated in the videos showing the murders of US journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, US aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, and a number of other hostages.
Emwazi, who speaks English and is believed to be born in Kuwait, is frequently seen in hooded hostage videos carrying out violent beheadings.