US claims to have hit Daesh cutthroat ‘Jihadi John’
Mohammed Emwazi, the notorious Daesh (ISIL) terrorist also known as 'Jihadi John,' has been killed in a US airstrike in Syria, reports say.
US media reports cite unnamed officials, with ABC News quoting one as saying that the airstrike was "flawless" and the British national Emwazi was essentially "evaporated."
The drone strike near the Syrian city of Raqqah targeted the militant responsible for grisly beheadings featured in the terrorist group’s gruesome propaganda videos, said Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook on Thursday night following the attack earlier in the day.
Now the Wall Street Journal is citing a US official as saying that "we are assessing the results for a final confirmation, but initial indications are that 'Jihadi John' is no longer on this planet."
Earlier, Cook said that the Pentagon was still trying to figure out whether Emwazi had been killed, saying, “We are assessing the results of tonight’s operation and will provide additional information as and where appropriate.”
Another unnamed US official has said that a Daesh gathering targeted in the strike may have included other English-speaking ISIL militants who are collectively known as “the Beatles” among the terror group’s captives for their British accent, the Washington Post reported.
Emwazi has appeared in seven videos released by Daesh since August 2014, when he beheaded US journalist James Foley. In September 2014, he appeared in another video showing the beheading of a second US journalist named Steve Sotloff as well as British aid worker David Haines.
The so-called 'Jihadi John' appeared in a video released in October, where he purportedly killed British aid worker Alan Henning and a Syrian soldier. In a November 2014 video, he killed US aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter Kassig.
Back in January, Emwazi also featured in footage in which he appeared to be decapitating Japanese hostage Kenji Goto.
Pentagon orders withdrawal of all US troops from Niger
US soldier detained in Russia for stealing
Pentagon shifts jets to Qatar after UAE bans use of base for strikes: WSJ
VIDEO | Press TV’s news headlines
VIDEO | Swedish police, pro-Palestinian protesters clash during Eurovision final
VIDEO | London protesters to government: Stop arming Israel
VIDEO | An insider’s view of the country: Shadegan-Shoosh and Qazvin City
Zionist captive dies after being wounded in Israeli airstrikes: Hamas
VIDEO | Iraqi fighters stage cruise missile strike against Israeli airbase
VIDEO | Venice Art Biennale focuses on Palestine, Gaza
World support for Palestine's UN membership bid shows Israel’s full isolation: Iran
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
