“We are reasonably certain that we killed the target we meant to kill, which was Jihadi John”, he said.
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“Now we are using the same intelligence capabilities to verify that the individual we killed was in fact Jihadi John”, Col Warren said.
A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said USA officials think the two people in the targeted vehicle were killed, but the officials were not able to say with certainty that Emwazi was among them.
Intelligence sources had been tracking Emwazi “for a few time”, Warren said.
“This guy was a human animal, and killing him probably makes the world a little bit better place”.
“We are still assessing the results of this strike but the terrorists associated with Da’esh need to know this: your days are numbered and you will be defeated”, he said.
Authorities were still investigating to confirm his identity “one hundred per cent”, the official said.
Hailing from an affluent family in West London, Emwazi, a Briton born in Kuwait, reportedly travelled to Syria around 2012 to joined the IS during the group’s infancy. His parents moved to Britain in 1993 after their hopes of obtaining Kuwaiti citizenship were quashed.
The masked British militant targeted in Thursday’s strike sparked worldwide revulsion with his grisly, on-camera executions of foreign aid workers and journalists in war-ravaged Syria.
Foley is seen kneeling on the ground, dressed in an orange outfit resembling those worn by prisoners held at the USA naval base at Guantanamo Bay.
Emwazi is thought to have participated in the beheadings of Steven Sotloff, another American journalist; Abdul-Rahman Kassig, an American aid worker; David Haines and Alan Henning, both British aid workers; and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto.
If this strike was successful, and we still await confirmation of that, it will be a strike at the heart of Isil.
Friday the 13th may be considered an unlucky day for superstitious people, but for Islamic State beheader Jihadi John, it could be true.
Charlie Winter, an academic who focuses on IS activities, said it could be a “big blow”.
In contrast to Mr Cameron, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “It appears Mohammed Emwazi has been held to account for his callous and brutal crimes”.
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“I have heard the news but it doesn’t bring me any comfort because nothing will bring back my husband”, said Dragana Prodanovic Haines, the Croatian wife of aid worker David Haines who was kidnapped by IS and killed previous year. Analysts said the impact of his possible death could be limited.
