Two Members Of ISIS’ “Beatles” Execution Squad Identified As Londoners


Two members of the notorious ISIS “Beatles” execution squad have been identified by British and American intelligence agencies, according to a report from The Guardian. 32-year-old Londoner Alexanda Kotey, and 31-year-old Aine Davis, both from London, have been implicated in at least 27 executions.

The Beatles (a name bestowed upon them by their hostages owing to their British accents,) were once headed by “Jihadi John” (Mohammed Emwazi) and have been responsible for numerous beheadings of western hostages in Iraq and Syria, many of which have been recorded and publicized — most notably those of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning in 2014.

Alan Henning was one of the British aid workers beheaded by the Beatles.
Alan Henning was one of the British aid workers beheaded by the Beatles. [Photo by Andy Kelvin – WPA Pool/Getty Images]
Investigation revealed that all three men had attended the same mosque in west London, and were friends prior to leaving the United Kingdom to join ISIS in Syria.

At this time, only one member of The Beatles remains unidentified, and intelligence services are working to ascertain the identity of the final member.

While Kotey, described as of Ghanaian and Greek-Cypriot background, is still at large, Davis was detained in Turkey last November on suspicion of planning terror attacks in Istanbul similar to those carried out in Paris; around the same time, Emwazi was confirmed killed by a United States drone strike.

Davis, formerly a drug dealer, left London for Syria in 2013.

A spokesman for the Home Office in London would “neither confirm nor deny” that Kotey and Davis were Beatles members; however, The Washington Post, which claims partial credit for the story in association with Buzzfeed News, has received confirmation from a U.S. intelligence official and individuals familiar with British nationals in Syria, on condition of anonymity.

Kotey’s family in London also would not confirm the allegations, but were “very distressed” and said that they had not seen him “for a number of years.”

While it is unknown which guard in the videos was Kotey, former captives have indicated that the British guards were by far the worst there, subjecting their prisoners to regular beatings, tasings, waterboarding, and psychological torture. The Beatles always wore masks in the presence of their hostages.

A former friend of Kotey, who also requested anonymity, said that the group used “to have this stall outside the mosque, and those guys used to openly preach and argue about what they thought was their cause or ideology.” He said that Kotey also advocated suicide bombing, arguing with those who said it was against the Koran.

He later became involved with a group of extremists known as the “London Boys” who have been linked to terrorist actions in the United Kingdom, and left London in 2009, traveling on a convoy of aid vehicles to the Gaza Strip. Nine volunteers were arrested the day before the trip under the provisions of the United Kingdom’s Terrorism Act, but Kotey slipped their net. All nine who were arrested were later released without charges.

Kotey reportedly converted to Islam in his early 20s, after having two children with a Muslim woman. They were later separated.

Saleha Islam, director of the al-Manaar mosque attended by the identified Beatles members, told ITV News that “we are aware that certain people have joined Isis who live in the area of Ladbroke Grove; we have always condemned the actions of these extremists and will continue to do so.”

“Al-Manaar is a centre where we have up to 3,000 people attending every week, it is not a membership club and anyone can come and pray. The suggestion that the mosque has radicalised young men shows how ignorant people are of Islam and how mosques work.”

London is a frequent gathering point for Muslims coming together to condemn extremism.
London is a frequent gathering point for Muslims coming together to condemn extremism. [Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images]
Kotey is believed to have been instrumental in radicalizing young British men who have joined ISIS in Syria.

[AP Photo, File]

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