Reports Identify IS Militant 'Jihadi John'

The Islamic State militant known as "Jihadi John" has been identified as a Londoner called Mohammed Emwazi, it has been reported.

According to a US newspaper, Emwazi was born in Kuwait and comes from a well-to-do family.

He grew up in West London and graduated from the University of Westminster with a degree in computer programming.

In his mid-twenties, he is believed to have travelled to Syria in 2012 and to have joined Islamic State later.

A close friend of Emwazi told the Washington Post: "I have no doubt that Mohammed is Jihadi John. He was like a brother to me... I am sure it is him."

A representative of a British human rights group who had been in contact with Emwazi before he left for Syria also said he believed he was "Jihadi John".

"There was an extremely strong resemblance," Asim Qureshi, research director at the rights group, CAGE, said after watching a video of him beheading a hostage.

Apparently, Emwazi was identified by US authorities in September, a month after he rose to notoriety in a video killing American journalist James Foley.

Since then he has appeared in a series of videos documenting the gruesome murders of other hostages, including British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines.

In each, he taunts audiences and is dressed in all black, with a balaclava covering his face. He wears a holster under his left arm.

The Washington Post claims Emwazi started to radicalise after a planned safari in Tanzania following his graduation was brought to an abrupt end when he was detained on arrival in Dar es Salaam and deported.

He is said to have told friends he was flown to Amsterdam where an officer from MI5 accused him of trying to reach Somalia, where the militant group al Shabab operates.

Downing Street declined to confirm or deny if Emwazi's name was known to the intelligence and security services.

Asked if David Cameron was concerned about him being identified, a spokeswoman said: "The Prime Minister would be concerned about information being put into the public domain at any time that might jeopardise ongoing police or security investigations or the safety of British citizens.

"There is an ongoing investigation. It is absolutely right that we allow the police and security agencies to do all they can to bring those responsible to justice and to help keep British people safe."

A statement from the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College London said: "We believe that the identity and name published by the Washington Post and now in the public realm to be accurate and correct."

The statement added: "This demonstrates what we have long said about radicalisation, that it is not something driven by poverty or social deprivation. Ideology clearly plays a big role in motivating some men to participate in jihadist causes."

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