The Islamic State group militant “Jihadi John” was hit by a US forces airstrike with a “high degree of certainty”, US officials say.
Mohammed Emwazi, the Kuwaiti-born British militant, appeared in videos of the beheadings of Western hostages.
It is believed there was at least one other person in the vehicle targeted in the attack near Raqqa, in Syria.
A drone was used in the attack, according to a US official quoted by the Associated Press news agency.
A formal statement from the Pentagon stopped short of asserting that Mohammed Emwazi had definitely been killed, adding that it was assessing the operation.
Mohammed Emwazi is believed to have travelled to Syria in 2013 and later joined ISIS militants.
Photo CBC
He first appeared in a video in August 2014, when footage was posted online showing the murder of American journalist James Foley.
Jihadi John was later pictured in the videos of the beheadings of American journalist Steven Sotloff, British aid worker David Haines and taxi driver Alan Henning, as well as American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter, and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto.
In each of the videos, the militant appeared dressed in a black robe with a black balaclava covering his face.
Initially dubbed “Jihadi John” by the media, he was subsequently named as Mohammed Emwazi, from west London, in February.
Earlier this year, details emerged about how Mohammed Emwazi made a number of journeys abroad before he left for Syria in 2013.
They included a trip to Tanzania in August 2009, when he is believed to have first became known to security services in the UK.
Jihadi John’s naming this year led to a row over the cause of his radicalization, with British advocacy group Cage suggesting that contact with MI5 may have contributed to it.
PM David Cameron has defended the British security services amid criticisms they failed to stop Mohammed Emwazi, known as “Jihadi John”, from joining ISIS in Syria.
The prime minister said MI5 made “incredibly difficult judgments” on the UK’s behalf.
His comments came after it emerged Mohammed Emwazi was known to authorities.
David Cameron said he would not comment on specific cases but urged the public to back the security services.
Mohammed Emwazi, who is in his mid-20s, first appeared in a video last August, when he apparently killed American journalist James Foley.
He was later thought to have been pictured in the videos of the beheadings of British aid worker David Haines, American journalist Steven Sotloff, British taxi driver Alan Henning, and American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter Kassig.
UK-based advocacy group Cage has suggested that MI5 may have contributed to the radicalization of Mohammed Emwazi.
Downing Street said the claim was “completely reprehensible”, while London Mayor Boris Johnson described Cage’s comments as “an apology for terror”.
David Cameron defended the security services, praising the work of “these extraordinary men and women”.
He said: “I meet with them regularly, I ask them searching questions about what they do and in my almost five years’ experience as prime minister, I think they are incredibly impressive, hard-working, dedicated, courageous and effective at protecting our country.
“All of the time, they are having to make incredibly difficult judgements and I think basically they make very good judgements on our behalf, and I think whilst we are in the middle of this vast effort to make sure British citizens are safe, the most important thing is to get behind them.”
David Cameron went on to say the security services’ “dedication and work has saved us from plots on the streets of the UK that could have done us immense damage” within the last few months.
He said he was satisfied there was effective scrutiny of the work they do.
Mihammed Emwazi has appeared in videos dressed in a black robe with a black balaclava covering all but his eyes and top of his nose.
Speaking with a British accent, Jihadi John taunted Western powers before holding his knife to the hostages’ necks, appearing to start cutting before the film stopped.
Hostages released by ISIS said Jihadi John was one of three British jihadists guarding Westerners abducted by the group in Syria.
David Haines’ widow says she wants ISIS militant Jihadi John to be caught alive.
Dragana Haines says the “last thing” she wants for the man who killed her husband is an “honourable death”.
Jihadi John, pictured in the videos of the beheadings of Western hostages, has been named as Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born Briton from west London.
David Haines’ daughter said she wanted to see “a bullet between his eyes”.
Mohammed Emwazi, who is in his mid-20s and was previously known to British security services, first appeared in a video last August, when he apparently killed American journalist James Foley.
He was later thought to have been pictured in the videos of the beheadings of British aid worker David Haines, American journalist Steven Sotloff, British taxi driver Alan Henning, and American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter Kassig.
In a recent interview with BBC, Dragana Haines said she wanted Mohammed Emwazi to be caught alive and not have an “honorable death” by being killed in action.
A spokesman for the family of Steven Sotloff said: “We want to sit in a courtroom, watch him sentenced and see him sent to a super-max prison.”
Steven Foley’s mother Diane told the Times that she forgave her son’s killer.
“It saddens me, [Mohammed Emwazi’s] continued hatred,” she said.
“He felt wronged, now we hate him – now that just prolongs the hatred. We need to end it.
“As a mum I forgive him. You know, the whole thing is tragic – an ongoing tragedy.”
In each of the videos, Jihadi John appeared dressed in a black robe with a black balaclava covering all but his eyes and top of his nose.
Speaking with a British accent, he taunted Western powers before holding his knife to the hostages’ necks, appearing to start cutting before the film stopped. The victims’ decapitated bodies were then shown.
Earlier this month, Jihadi John featured in a video in which the Japanese journalist Kenji Goto appeared to be beheaded.
Hostages released by ISIS said he was one of three British jihadists guarding Westerners abducted by the group in Syria. They were known collectively as “the Beatles”.
Mohammed Emwazi known as Jihadi John:
1988: Born in Kuwait, moves to UK in 1994
2009: Completes computing degree at University of Westminster
Aug 2009: Travels to Tanzania with two friends, he says for safari, but refused entry at Dar es Salaam. Put on flight to Amsterdam. After questioning there, returns to Dover
Sept 2009: Travels to Kuwait to stay with father’s family
July 2010: Returns to UK for short stay but told he cannot return to Kuwait as visa denied
2012: Passes Celta English language teaching course
2013: Changes name by deed poll to Mohammed al-Ayan. Tries to travel to Kuwait but is stopped. Disappears. Parents report him missing. Police tell family four months later he has entered Syria
The masked ISIS militant with British accent known as “Jihadi John”, who has been pictured in the videos of the beheadings of Western hostages, has been named as Mohammed Emwazi from London.
Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born British man believed to be from West London, who was known to UK security services.
They chose not to disclose his name earlier for operational reasons.
Mohammed Emwazi first appeared in a video last August, when he apparently killed the American journalist James Foley.
He was later thought to have been pictured in the videos of the beheadings of American journalist Steven Sotloff, British aid worker David Haines, British taxi driver Alan Henning, and American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter Kassig.
In each of the videos, the militant appeared dressed in a black robe with a black balaclava covering all but his eyes and top of his nose.
Speaking with a British accent, the man taunted and threatened Western powers before appearing to kill the hostages.
Last month, the militant appeared in a video with the Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto, shortly before they were killed.
Friends of Mohammed Emzawi told the Washington Post that he was from a well-to-do family and that he studied computer programming at university.
Mohammed Emzawi is believed to be an associate of a former UK control order suspect, who travelled to Somalia in 2006 and is allegedly linked to a facilitation and funding network for Somali militant group al-Shabab.
The Washington Post said Mohammed Emzawi was believed to have travelled to Syria around 2012 and later joined ISIS, which has declared the creation of a “caliphate” in the large swathes of Syria and neighboring Iraq it controls.
The FBI has announced it has identified the militant in the videos depicting the killings of two US journalists and a British aid worker.
However, FBI Director James Comey says the agency will not yet release the name of Islamic State fighter, so-called Jihadi John, who seemed to speak with a British accent.
UK Foreign Minister Philip Hammond told CNN this week they were “getting warm” on the identity of the masked man.
Jihadi John appears in Steven Sotloff’s killing video (photo Reuters)
James Comey did not say whether the man identified carried out the killings.
He said the FBI was able to identify him with the help of international partners.
American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British aid worker David Haines, have all been killed alongside a masked man dressed in black holding a knife, who speaks to the camera.
The life of another British citizen, Alan Henning, was threatened in the last video.
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