News that the Islamic State militant known as “Jihadi John” may have died in a US air strike brought relief mingled with grief and vengeful thoughts on Friday to the loved ones of the two British aid workers he killed on video.
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Col Steve Warren said Thursday’s attack in Raqqa had hit the intended target, but it would take time to “formally declare that we have had success”.
“Jihadi John”, the jeering, sadistic masked mouthpiece of ISIS, may have been killed in a US airstrike in Raqqa, Syria.
This was a mission of “persistent surveillance”, a senior USA official said, adding that authorities knew it was Emwazi when they took the shot.
In other news, Turkish authorities in Istanbul have also arrested Aine Lesley Davis, a 30 year-old jihadist who fled London last year to join ISIS in Syria.
Unnamed US and British officials and military sources indicated with certainty that Mohammed Emwazi, whom the British media dubbed “Jihadi John”, was killed in a drone strike in Raqqa, Syria on Thursday, the Daily Telegraph of London reported.
Colonel Warren confirmed a video existed of the kill saying all drone strikes are taped.
“His death does not bring Jim back”, the Foleys said in a statement.
Emwazi, who speaks English and is believed to be born in Kuwait, was frequently seen in hooded hostage videos carrying out violent beheadings, including that of Britons.
Sotloff’s parents, Art and Shirley Sotloff, said Friday’s developments “doesn’t change anything for us”.
Britain’s opposition leader says it would have been better if Mohammed Emwazi had stood trial for his crimes. “If only so much effort had been given to finding and rescuing Jim and the other hostages who were subsequently murdered by ISIS, they might be alive today”, they said.
“We had been following this target for some time”, Warren said.
Separately, Warren said the USA has escalated its strikes on oil facilities in Syria that help fund Islamic State operations.
The family of an American journalist beheaded by the Islamic State fighter known as “Jihadi John” said a USA drone strike targeting the extremist provides little comfort.
The “high value individual (HVI)” is believed to have been killed along with an associate – or “worst best friend” – who may have been the driver of the auto they were in when it was attacked with a Hellfire missile fired from a drone.
“This is significant of course because Jihadi John was something of an ISIS celebrity if you will, kind of the face of the organisation in many senses so there certainly is a significance to their prestige in ISIS but Jihadi John was not a major operational or tactical figure for us”.
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He later attended the University of Westminster and graduated with a degree in information systems with business management. “Like them, we are not commenting further at this stage”.
