Two British jihadists, known as ‘The Beatles’, charged in US

Two Britons who had joined the Islamic State in Syria are being charged in the United States for their involvement in the beheading of at least four American hostages. They will be brought to trial in Alexandria, Virginia, later today, according to legal sources.

The two, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, are part of the group of ISIS people who, because of their British accent, were called ‘The Beatles of Islamic State’ by their inmates. They are suspected by law enforcement in America of having been involved in at least 24 murders, including the beheadings of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid worker Peter Kassig.

Orange overalls

The beheading videos were published on IS propaganda channels. The films showed kneeling victims in orange overalls being murdered by IS fighters dressed in black.

The charges against Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are not yet known. The two were rounded up by Syrian military in late 2018 and handed over to US military personnel in Iraq in October 2019. Two other ‘Beatles’ are Mohammed Emwazi, who was killed in a drone attack in 2015, and Aine Lesley Davis. The latter was sentenced to seven years in prison in Turkey in 2017.

Relieved

Relatives of the victims are relieved that the two were brought to the United States. “They can now answer in a US court for the horrific crimes they committed against our children.” The trial of the two could become one of the most important terrorism trials in the US over IS terror.

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