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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