‘Jihadi John’: FBI Identifies ISIS Executioner
The FBI has identified Jihadi John, the masked ISIS militant who appeared on video beheading two kidnapped American Journalists and a British aid worker.
According to The Telegraph, FBI director James Comey made the assertion during a briefing with reporters. The admission marks the first time that officials have stated that Jihadi John has been identified. Comey also stated, however, that the FBI would not release the man’s name, or his nationality. He did not address whether or not officials believe that Jihadi John actually carried out the killings, or if they were committed by someone else off-camera.
“I believe that we have identified him, I’m not going to tell you who I believe it is,” Comey said.
BREAKING: FBI ‘Has Identified Isis Executioner Jihadi John’ Who Killed British & US Hostages http://t.co/oyiseIItpE pic.twitter.com/AqcAQAVT33
— Jack Moore (@JFXM) September 25, 2014
Comey stated that the FBI is still working to identify two other men in the ISIS videos who have American or Canadian accents, according to The Daily Mail. While he asserted that the FBI believes ISIS wishes to strike at the United States, they do not believe that the group posses the necessary capabilities to carry out a sophisticated attack.
British authorities refused to comment on the FBI’s statement, and would not say whether any arrests were imminent in the London area. As the Inquisitr has previously noted, Jihadi John speaks with a British accent in the three ISIS execution videos in which he has appeared, and is believed to originate from the area surrounding London.
Former CIA officer Aki Peritz asserted that while the difficult part will be bringing Jihadi John to justice, identifying him will help the FBI further dismantle the ISIS network.
“Identifying him will allow both U.S. and U.K. security services to begin to identify his network of confederates, perhaps finding new links back to the West,” Peritz said. “He’s probably somewhere in Syria right now- since we’re now bombing that country, his personal safety is not assured anymore.”
BREAKING: FBI says it has identified ‘#JihadiJohn‘ seen in #ISIS execution videos http://t.co/EYcYDQVmF9 pic.twitter.com/5e9rUmYASh — Tweeter! (@oneworldtweet) September 25, 2014
Earlier this week, it was revealed that U.S. spy planes are flying over Britain, monitoring electronic signals in an effort to track down Jihadi John and his contacts, according to The Daily Mail. They also claim that a source revealed Jihadi John originates from a London suburb, while the FBI believes he has associates in the U.K., with whom he directly communicates.
[Image via The Telegraph]
