ISIS Confirms Jihadi John Died in November 2015
ISIS has confirmed the British militant Mohammed Emwazi known as Jihadi John died in a drone strike in November 2015.
The Islamic State group’s online propaganda magazine Dabiq published an obituary for the jihadist.
In November the US military said it was “reasonably certain” it had killed him in the ISIS-stronghold of Raqqa.
Mohammed Emwazi appeared in beheading videos of victims including UK aid worker David Haines and taxi driver Alan Henning.
In the eulogy, Kuwaiti-born Mohammed Emwazi is referred to as Abu Muharib al-Muhajir, his nickname in the group and the details of his death confirm the US version of events.
The jihadist group said Jihadi John was killed on November 12 “as the car he was in was targeted in a strike by an unmanned drone in the city of Raqqa, destroying the car and killing him instantly”.
A smiling picture of the militant, who appears unmasked looking towards the ground, accompanies the text, which is written in tribute form to a man they describe as an “honorable brother”.
Mohammed Emwazi first emerged in August 2014 when he appeared masked in a video in which US journalist James Foley was apparently murdered.
Dubbed “Jihadi John” by the media, he was identified as Mohammed Emwazi, a computer programming graduate who grew up in London, in February 2015.
Jihadi John also appeared in videos of the beheadings of American journalist Steven Sotloff, David Haines, Alan Henning, as well as American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter, and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto.
He became a top target for US and British intelligence agencies, even though he is thought to have played no military role within ISIS.
At the time of Jihadi John’s reported death in November, UK’s PM David Cameron said targeting Mohammed Emwazi had been “the right thing to do”.
He said the UK had been working with its US allies “literally around the clock” to track Mohammed Emwazi down.
Three drones – one British and two American – were involved in the strike. One of the American drones hit the car, and it is believed there was one other person in the vehicle.