Jihadi John

"Jihadi John" and "Jailer John" are pseudonyms given to Abdel Majed Abdel Bary, a member of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, or "Islamic State"), known for apparently beheading several prisoners in 2014 and 2015. He is alleged to be a British national.

Jihadi John was identified by the FBI in September 2014, though his name has yet to be released publicly. British Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered MI5, MI6, and GCHQ to track and capture Jihadi John. The U.S. Senate has approved a $10 million bounty for information leading to his capture.

Nickname
He was given his pseudonym as John by a group of his hostages. The hostages have said that he was part of a terrorist cell described as "The Beatles", and that he guarded Western hostages while handling communications with their families. The pseudonym makes reference to John Lennon of the Beatles, and other members of the cell are known as "George", "Paul" and "Ringo", in reference to the Beatles' other members, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. The cell members all had English accents. The pseudonyms "Jihadi John" and "Jailer John" were created by the British press.

Jihadi John was identified by the FBI on 25 September 2014, though his name has yet to be released publicly. British Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered MI5, MI6, and GCHQ to track and capture Jihadi John.

James Foley
In a video uploaded to YouTube on 19 August 2014, Foley read a prepared statement criticizing the United States, the recent air strikes in Iraq, and his brother who serves in the United States Air Force. Jihadi John, wearing a mask, also read a prepared statement in which he criticized America and President Barack Obama and made demands to cease the 2014 American-led intervention in Iraq. The masked man then beheaded Foley off-camera, after which he threatened to behead Steven Sotloff if his demands were not met. The FBI and United States National Security Council confirmed that the video, which included footage of Foley's beheaded corpse, was genuine.

Steven Sotloff
On 2 September 2014, a video was released reportedly showing American journalist Steven Sotloff's beheading by Jihadi John. The White House confirmed the video's authenticity.

David Haines
On 13 September 2014, a video, directed at British Prime Minister David Cameron, was released, showing British hostage aid worker David Haines being beheaded by Jihadi John.

Alan Henning
On 3 October 2014, a video released by ISIS showing Jihadi John beheading British aid worker Alan Henning. Henning, a taxi driver from Salford, Greater Manchester, had volunteered to deliver aid to Syria when he was kidnapped in Ad Dana, an area held by ISIS, on 27 December 2013.

Peter Kassig
On 15 November 2014 a video was posted by ISIS of Jihadi John standing over a severed head, which the White House confirmed was that of Peter Kassig. Kassig's actual beheading was not shown, and unlike earlier hostage beheading videos he does not make a statement, leading to speculation that he refused to speak.

Syrian soldiers
The video that ended with Kassig showed the beheadings of 21 Syrian soldiers in gruesome detail, by a group led by a masked Jihadi John. It was said by the BBC that unlike previous videos, this one shows the faces of many of the militants, provided the location as Dabiq in Aleppo Province, and that this video "revels in gore." Unlike previous videos which cut away without showing the killing, Jihadi John is shown beheading a victim.

Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto Jogo
Haruna Yukawa, age 42, was captured sometime before August 2014. Kenji Goto Jogo, age 47, was captured sometime in October 2014 while trying to rescue Yukawa. In January 2015, they were threatened to be killed unless the Japanese government paid a ransom of $200 million. Haruna was beheaded on 24 January, and Kenji on 31 January 2015.

Hostages
It was claimed in August 2014 that ISIS held more than 20 hostages. Many hostage families have chosen not to reveal their relatives' names in order to avoid drawing attention to them and compromising their safety. All or nearly all of the Europeans were ransomed by their countries. However laws in the US and the UK prohibit paying ransoms.

John Cantlie
Cantlie is a British citizen held hostage who has appeared in a series of ISIS videos. He was kidnapped along with American James Foley on 22 November 2012.

Official analysis
Officially the FBI and United States National Security Council confirmed that the James Foley video, which ended with footage of a beheaded corpse, is genuine. David Cameron and the British Foreign Office also confirmed the authenticity of the video showing the death of David Haines.

The videos were produced and distributed by Al Hayat Media Center, a media outlet of ISIS that is under the authority of the ISIS's official propaganda arm, the Al-Itisam Establishment for Media Production, that targets specifically Western and non-Arabic speaking audiences.

Unofficial analysis
An unnamed forensics expert commissioned by The Times to look at the James Foley video said "I think it has been staged. My feeling is that the murder may have happened after the camera was stopped." The Times concluded that "No one is questioning that the photojournalist [James Foley] was beheaded, but camera trickery and slick post-production techniques appear to have been used." Two unnamed video specialists in the International Business Times of Australia claimed that portions of the video appeared to be staged and edited. Dr. James Alvarez, a British-American hostage negotiator, also claimed the James Foley video was "expertly staged", with the use of two separate cameras and a clip-on microphone attached to Foley’s orange jumpsuit. Jeff Smith, Associate Director of the CU Denver National Center for Media Forensics said "What's most interesting is that the actual beheading that takes place in the videos, both of them are staged."

British analyst Eliot Higgins (Brown Moses) published photographic and video forensic evidence suggesting that the James Foley video was taken at a spot in the hills south of the Syrian city of Raqqa.

Identification and manhunt
Jihadi John became the subject of a manhunt by the FBI, MI5 and Scotland Yard. In his videos, Jihadi John conceals his identity by covering himself from head to toe in black, except for tan desert boots, with a mask that only leaves his eyes visible. Despite this, several facts about Jihadi John can be ascertained from both videos. He speaks with a "Multicultural London English" accent and appears to have a skin tone consistent with African or South Asian descent. In both videos, he is seen to sport a pistol in a leather shoulder holster under his left shoulder, typical of right-handed people, but his actions in the videos have led him to be widely considered to be left-handed.

Other factors that could lead to his identification are his height, general physique, the pattern of veins on the back of his hands, his voice and clothes. A team of analysts might use the topography of the landscape in the video in an attempt to identify the location. On 24 August 2014, the British Ambassador to Washington, Sir Peter Westmacott, said that Britain was very close to identifying Jihadi John using sophisticated voice recognition technology, but when pressed, refused to disclose any other details.

In an article by The Daily Telegraph, it was stated that even if Jihadi John is positively identified, it is highly unlikely that he would face justice in the UK due to the nature of the conflict in Syria and the conflict in Iraq.

On 20 September 2014, the US Senate approved a $10 million bounty for information that leads to the capture of anyone involved in the murders of James Foley, Steven Sotloff and David Cawthorne Haines, which includes Jihadi John.

Possible identity
On 14 September British Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed that Jihadi John's identity was known but had yet to be revealed.

On 25 September, FBI director James Comey told reporters that they had identified the suspect, but did not give information regarding the man's identity or nationality. "I believe that we have identified him. I'm not going to tell you who I believe it is," Comey stated. Michael Ryan, an author and scholar from the Middle East Institute speculated "Maybe 98 percent of 95 percent sure is not sure enough to put a man’s name out."

According to sources, there are three main suspects:
 * Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, 23, a rapper from West London
 * Abu Hussain Al-Britani, 20, a computer hacker from Birmingham
 * Abu Abdullah al-Britani, in his 20s from Portsmouth

Reactions
Barack Obama condemned the actions of Jihadi John and vowed punishment for all the militants responsible behind the videotaped beheadings. Secretary of State John Kerry also called Jihadi John a "coward behind a mask" and, echoing Obama, stated that all those responsible would be held accountable by the United States. British officials have also reiterated their commitment to capturing Jihadi John. Admiral Alan West, a former UK Security Minister, said that he is a "dead man walking" who will be "hunted down like Osama Bin-Laden". David Cameron also stated that he was absolutely certain that Jihadi John would "one way or another, face justice", he also condemned the actions. Other figures like Justice Secretary Chris Grayling, and Secretary General of Interpol Ronald Noble also stated that Jihadi John should be brought to justice.

Ringo Starr, a member of the Beatles, is disgusted that the militant cell use nicknames derived from members of the band. Speaking to the London Evening Standard, he said "It’s bullshit. What they are doing out there is against everything the Beatles stood for."