UK says is close to identifying Briton suspected of beheading
British authorities are trying to identify the man, who has a London accent and has been dubbed ‘Jihadi John’ by UK media
Britain is close to identifying a man, thought to be British, who was shown beheading U.S. journalist James Foley in a video released by the Islamic State militant group last week, its ambassador to the United States, Peter Westmacott, told CNN.
“We are close” to identifying the man in the video, Westmacott told CNN’s “State of the Union” program on Sunday.
“We’re putting a lot into it,” he said, including using voice-recognition technology to track down the killer.
British authorities are trying to identify the man, who has a London accent and has been dubbed “Jihadi John” by British media. The masked figure beheaded Foley in a video released on Tuesday that also threatened a second captive American journalist, Steven Sotloff.
Foley was abducted in Syria in November 2012; Sotloff was kidnapped there in 2013.
Westmacott said the problem “goes beyond one horrendous criminal.”
“People think maybe as many as 500 British subjects have gone to Syria and Iraq for this cause of jihad,” he said.
Also Read
-
British rapper ‘L Jinny’ suspect in Foley killing
Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary reportedly left his home in London last year to fight in Syria, he was known as Lyricist Jinn Features -
Israel deletes Foley beheading tweet from accounts after controversy
Israel removes from two government Twitter accounts a harrowing image of U.S. journalist James Foley about to be beheaded Digital -
British female ISIS militant: I’ll chop off UK, U.S. heads
Her Twitter account also features links to international media outlets reporting on the death of U.S. journalist James Foley Middle East -
Foley’s beheading reopens debate on ransoms
Foley’s beheading by ISIS intensified a debate within the Obama administration about whether to pay ransoms to radical groups Middle East -
Qatar: Foley beheading ‘crime’ against Islam’s principles
Doha’s reaction comes a day after Germany’s development aid minister accused Qatar of financing ISIS militants Middle East -
Former ISIS hostage identifies Foley executioner
“John” was identified as one of three British men who guarded foreign hostages, and dubbed “The Beatles” Middle East
