'Jihadi John's' purported death gives 'small solace' to executed journalist James Foley's parents
A U.S.-led drone strike in Syria has reportedly killed the masked Islamic State militant known as "Jihadi John," the Kuwaiti-born British national who is suspected of having been behind the beheadings of many foreign nationals.
The news of apparent killing on “Jihadi John” received mixed response from the families of the victims killed by him. Foley's parents, John and Diane Foley, of New Hampshire, issued a statement saying the news of death of the killer of their son has given them "a very small solace."
"His death does not bring Jim back. If only so much effort had been given to finding and rescuing Jim and the other hostages who were subsequently murdered by ISIS, they might be alive today," they said.
According to the Associated Press, the U.S. military is "reasonably certain" that the man they killed is indeed "Jihadi John," a 27-year-old executioner whose real name is Mohammed Emwazi.
"The intelligence indicators that we had gave us great confidence that this individual was Jihadi John and when the opportunity presented itself - with the opportunity for minimal civilian casualties - we took the shot," Army Col. Steve Warren, U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, is quoted as saying by the AP.
"This guy was a human animal, and killing him is probably making the world a little bit better place," Warren added.
Emwazi was killed when three drones --two U.S. and one British--armed with a Hellfire missile opened fire on the vehicle in which he was believed to be traveling in Raqqa, the Islamic State's self-proclaimed capital in northern Syria, the news agency added.
"Jihadi John” is allegedly behind the beheadings of foreign nationals including the 2014 death of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, American Abdul-Rahman Kassig and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. He has also appeared in many notorious videos speaking in British accent through his black balaclava, holding a long knife on terrified hostages clad in orange jumpsuits.
In other news, Turkish authorities in Istanbul have also arrested Aine Lesley Davis, a 30 year-old jihadist who fled London last year to join ISIS in Syria. Davis is believed to be the British-born associate of executioner “Jihadi John” and authorities believe that his arrest will help police confirm that the man they killed in U.S. drone strike is indeed “Jihadi John.”
Meanwhile, the news of the purported death of “Jihadi John” was followed by the news that masked gunmen killed up to 140 people in what appears to have been a series of co-ordinated attacks in Paris. Raffaello Pantucci, the director of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute, told the Telegraph that it is was possible extremists could be inspired by the death of “Jihadi John” and launch similar attacks on British soil.
“I would worry more about people being inspired by it than directed,” Pantucci told the Telegraph.
According to ITV News, the attacks in Paris appear to be a direct response to the purported death of “Jihadi John.” The website said the assumption was made to them by “an anti-terror source.” However, no terrorist group has yet confirmed their hand behind the Paris attacks.
“Jihadi John” has also been also called a “martyr” by many fanatics on Twitter.
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