'Jihadi John' identified in media reports

A man with a British accent who has appeared in beheading videos produced by IS has been named by the media.

The London house where Mohammed Emwazi is believed to have lived

(Transcript from World News Radio)

 

A man with a British accent who has appeared in beheading videos produced by the self-proclaimed Islamic State has been named by the media.

 

He's said to be Kuwiati-born Mohammed Emwazi, a man who grew up in West London and has a degree in computer programming.

 

The Washington Post was the first media outlet to name him after an investigation that saw one of its reporters travel to London to interview his friends and associates.

 

Greg Dyett reports.

 

Seen, heard and now named.

 

One of the world's most wanted, the man dubbed by the media as 'Jihadi John' has now been identified as Mohammed Emwazi.

 

He first appeared in a video last August when the American journalist James Foley was beheaded.

 

Dressed in black and wearing a balaclava, he's fond of waving a knife at the camera while reprimanding Western leaders like Barack Obama.

 

"So just as your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people. We take this opportunity to warn those governments who've entered this alliance with America against the Islamic State to back off and leave our people alone."

 

Since then he's thought to have been responsible for killing another US journalist, Steven Sotloff as well as British aid workers David Haines and Allan Henning and American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig.

 

Emwazi also appeared in a video with two Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto shortly before they were killed.

 

SFX: "To the Japanese government, you, like your foolish allies in the satanic coalition have yet to understand that we by our large grace are Islamic caliphate with authority and power and entire army thirsty for your blood."

 

Washington Post reporter Adam Goldman co-authored the report which named Jihadi John.

 

Mr Goldman says by September last year the FBI and other intelligence agencies had established Jihadi John's identity but have chosen to keep it secret.

 

He says naming him is in the public interest.

 

"The story has enormous public interest, enormous public interest. You're seeing that from the reaction of the story from around the globe. This individual is responsible for beheading multiple people. I felt the public had a right to know."

 

The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College in London says it believes the newspaper has accurately and correctly identified Jihadi John.

 

The centre's Shiraz Maher says the fact that Emwazi is well-educated and from a middle-class family is typical of many of the people-at least in Britain-who become radicalised.

 

"Jihadi John's case is not special in so far as the idea that he is someone who had an education, who was from a financially well-off background, again fits with the types of people we see go from this country to participate in the conflict. That is different to what you see in Europe. They are, in Europe at least, tend to come from economically deprived backgrounds, have lower educational attainment and achievement, but from the UK, he is very, very typical."

 

The British Charity Cage, which campaigns for people detained on terrorism charges, has worked with Mohammed Emwazi since 2009.

 

Asim Qureshi from Cage says Emwazi had contacted his organisation to complain about being harassed by the British security forces.

 

"He was such a beautiful young man, really, you know it's hard to imagine the trajectory, but it's not a trajectory that's unfamiliar with us, for us. When are we going to finally learn that when we treat people like outsiders, they will inevitably feel like outsiders and they will look for belonging elsewhere?"