Hostage killer Jihadi John ‘is a Londoner with a computer science degree’

The Islamic State militant known as “Jihadi John” has been identified as a Londoner called Mohammed Emwazi, it has been reported. Emwazi was born in Kuwait and comes from a well-to-do family, according to the Washington Post. He grew up in northwest London and graduated from the University of Westminster with a degree in computer programming. Aged 27, he is believed to have travelled to Syria in 2012 and to have joined Islamic State later. A close friend of Emwazi told the newspaper: “He was like a brother to me… I am sure it is him.”

I have no doubt that Mohammed is Jihadi John.

An associate of Mohammed Emwazi

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

We are not going to confirm the identity of anyone at this stage or give an update on the progress of this live counter- terrorism investigation.

Commander Richard Walton of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command

World Jihadi John