The balaclava clad, black-robed militant who came to be known as ‘Jihadi John’ appeared in several Isis videos with hostages from the US, the UK and Japan.
The militant, who speaks with a British accent in the videos, first
appeared in footage released by the militant group in which he
threatened the life of American photojournalist James Foley.
It is
widely thought he has since featured in videos showing the deaths
Steven Sotloff, David Haines, Alan Henning, Abdul-Rahman Kassig (also
known as Peter Kassig), Haruna Yakawa and Kenji Goto.
Information about identity and background of Jihadi John was seemingly sparse until he was named today as Mohammed Emwazi by the Washington Post.
Here are nine things we now know about Mohammed Emwazi:
1. He is believed to be from west London and graduated from the University of Westminster with a degree in computer programming.
2. He was known by his friends as polite and as having “a penchant for wearing stylish clothes”.
3. He was born in Kuwait and moved to the UK aged six. He later returned to work for a computer company.
He had been due to marry a woman there, before he was allegedly
prevented from returning by British security services during a trip to
London.
4. A former hostage said he was part of a
team in charge of guarding Western hostages at a prison in Idlib in
Syria nicknamed ‘the box’. One hostage said he was there with two other
men with British accents. They described him as quiet, intelligent and
“the most deliberate”, according to The Post.
5.
The trio later moved to Raqqa, Isis’s defacto capital in Syria, with
hostages. Captives said they appeared to have taken on more powerful
roles within Isis.
Emwazi studied computer programming at the University of Westmister in Lonon
6. He was reportedly known to MI5 as far back as 2009, when he was deported from Tanzania during a trip with two other people.7. His friends say he spoke of wanting to teach English in Saudi Arabia shortly before he disappeared in 2012.
8. The Guardian reports that he began to get noticed in London jihadi circles about six years ago.
9. A
former hostage said he was obsessed withthe Islamist militant group
al-Shabaab and made his captives watch videos of the extremists.
The UK Government remains tight-lipped over the naming of Jihadi
John (pictured, who was revealed today as Mohammed Emwazi, 26, from
west London
Questions were being asked today about why it was left to the U.S. Government to reveal the identity of Jihadi John instead of British authorities.
The UK Government remains tight-lipped over the naming of the terror suspect who was revealed today as 26-year-old Mohammed Emwazi, from Queen's Park in west London.
Emwazi, who studied computer programming at the University of Westminster before
travelling to the Middle East three years ago, was confirmed as the
prominent ISIS figure by two U.S. Government sources.
However, while Whitehall sources confirmed Emwazi had been known to security
services for several weeks, the Home Office would not release any
confirmation of his identity.
Government sources said his name had not been made public because the priority was to try and locate him.
The Home Office said it was 'unable to comment' when contacted by
MailOnline today, while Metropolitan Police has yet to respond to
requests for comment.
Downing Street also refused to comment on Emwazi, including claims that he had contacts with MI5.
A Number 10 spokesman said: 'Our long-standing position on Jihadi John's identity is that we are neither confirming nor denying.
'There is an ongoing police investigation, we are not going to give a running commentary on that.'
Pressed on the claims Emwazi had contact with MI5, the spokesman said: 'You are asking me to speculate about speculation.
'What's
right is we let the police and security services do their work in an
ongoing investigation to bring these murderers to justice.'
Police could be seen attending Emwazi's home in Queen's Park earlier today, but no officers spoke to the media.
Despite
official sources failing to confirm his identity, it is understood Paul
Henning - the brother of British aid worker Alan who was beheaded by
Jihadi John - was aware of the ISIS militant's identity.
It is also believed that he was made aware by Government officials that the name would released to the public today.
Jihadi
John's identity was first published by the Washington Post, who
reported that friends and family of Emwazi had confirmed he was the ISIS
frontman.
The revelation was swiftly picked up by the British
media, but despite being broadcast around the world, British authorities
continue to remain tight-lipped.
Scroll down for video
The UK Government remains tight-lipped over the naming of Jihadi
John, who was revealed today to be 26-year-old Mohammed Emwazi, from
Queen's Park in west London. Police attended his home today (pictured)
Raffaello Pantucci, a senior research fellow at defence think tank
the Royal United Services Institute, said it was no surprise that Jihadi
John's outing was revealed by America.
He said: 'It will elevate him, and even add to the mythology around him in some minds.
'He has been on the radar for a long time now, and we finally know who he is.
'There is a reason the British security services would not have wanted his
name to be made public, because they will have been watching his
associates covertly as part of their intelligence gathering.
'The FBI said last year they knew who Jihadi John was, but my understanding
is he had actually been narrowed down to one of three people, and the
British and Americans were not sure which.
'That is an example of the different attitude when it comes to revealing information.'
Jihadi John has featured in the execution videos of British aid workers Alan
Henning and David Haines, U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven
Sotloff, Japanese reporter Kenji Goto and Syrian soldiers.
Both UK and U.S authorities have maintained that they have been running a joint investigation to unmask the ISIS militant.
However, while the British Government has largely remained tight-lipped about the probe, U.S. officials have been more vocal.
The U.S. Senate has also previously offered a £6million reward to anyone
providing information that could lead to the capture of Jihadi John.
Last September, U.S. sources revealed that American spy planes had flown
above Britain to monitor telephone and computer signals in a bid to
track down the British terrorist and those communicating with him.
The aircraft, manned by British pilots and carrying FBI agents, were
equipped with advanced technology to detect heat coming off a keyboard
when a button was pressed.
At the time, the U.S. claimed that Jihadi John was from a suburb within 10 miles of south London,
but Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said that UK officials were only 'getting warm' as to confirming his identity.
However, in the same month - perhaps reinstating the fact it was a joint investigation
between the two countries - it emerged that family members of Jihadi
John had been interviewed by both Met officers and an FBI agent.
Screengrab from Islamic State video that showed killing of US-Israeli hostage Steven Sotloff Photograph: Isis video grab
A British man has been identified as the knife-wielding militant who
appears in Islamic State videos claiming responsibility for the
beheadings of US, British and other hostages.
The Guardian has confirmed that Mohammad Emwazi, a 26-year-old west
Londoner and university graduate, is the militant. He had been given the
moniker “Jihadi John” by a group of his hostages, who described him as
part of an Isis cell they named “the Beatles”.
Emwazi guarded western hostages and handled negotiations with their
families. By all accounts he is a ruthless killer who has shown little
compunction about his gory, on-screen murders.
Emwazi arrived in Britain as a young boy, aged six, after being born
in Kuwait. He grew up in west London and was known as a polite,
mild-mannered young man.
Those who knew him say he had a penchant for wearing stylish clothes
but remained an observant Muslim. The Post describes him as bearded and
careful not to make eye contact with women.
He graduated in 2009 in information technology and is also fluent in
Arabic. However, instead of building a computing career, Emwazi ended up
on MI5’s radar.
Over the course of a year he claimed to have been harassed and
intimidated by the security services. In 2010, he went as far as to file
a complaint with the Independent Police Complaints Commission over his
treatment.
A US government official confirmed Emwazi’s identity to the Guardian,
after the British security services declined to confirm or deny that he
was the knife-wielding killer. Downing Street also refused to comment
on the reports.
David Cameron’s deputy spokeswoman said: “We cannot confirm or deny
anything in relation to intelligence. The point the prime minister would
make, which we have said since we have seen the awful actions of these
Isil [Isis] terrorists, is that we are absolutely determined to bring
the perpetrators to justice. The police and security agencies have been
working hard to do that.”
Questioned about whether Emwazi was known to the security services,
she said: “I’m not going to get into the details of an ongoing police
and security investigation.”
Asked if Downing Street had any concerns about Emwazi being named,
she said: “The point I would make is that there is an ongoing
investigation. It is absolutely right that we allow the police and
security agencies to do all they can to bring those responsible to
justice and help keep British people safe.”
As early as September last year, MI5 and the FBI had identified
Emwazi as the masked killer. They did not make his name public mainly
because of fears about the impact his identification might have on
hostages being held by Islamic State. A secondary reason was concern
over the safety of Emwazi’s family in the UK, in case of retaliation.
The intelligence agencies are unable to comment on the claim that it
tried to recruit Emwazi, in part because the killings of the hostages by
his grouping are still a matter of police investigation. But the
parliamentary intelligence and security committee report into the Lee
Rigby murder sets out the agency’s position.
The intelligence committee wrote: “Agents are one of MI5’s most
important sources of intelligence. MI5 often approaches subjects of
interest (SoIs) in order to try to recruit them as agents.”
According to people who have moved in jihadi circles in west London,
Emwazi began to be noticed about five or six years ago. “That’s when he
emerged, so to speak,” said one. Among his associates at that time was
Bilal el-Berjawi, a Londoner of Lebanese origin who was killed by a
drone strike in Somalia three years ago.
In August 2009, Emwazi went on a supposed safari holiday to Tanzania,
but on landing in the capital he said he was detained by police and
held overnight.
In a series of statements to Cage, which campaigns on behalf of
communities affected by the “war on terror”, Emwazi alleged he was
threatened with beatings by gun-toting members of Tanzania’s security
forces.
After being refused entry to Tanzania he was put on a plane to the
Netherlands, where he said he was questioned by an MI5 agent named
“Nick” who accused him of wanting to fight in Somalia, where the
militant group al-Shabaab operates in the southern part of the country.
In emails seen by the Guardian, Emwazi said the British agent knew
“everything about me; where I lived, what I did, and the people I hang
around with”. He is then claimed to have tried to “turn” Emwazi, asking:
“Why don’t you work for us?” When he refused, MI5 said “life would be
harder for you”.
Emwazi remained entangled with MI5. Over the next few months, he was again detained and interrogated.
Emwazi decided to move to Kuwait, where he landed a job working for a
computer company, according to the emails he wrote to Cage. He came
back to London twice, the second time to finalise his wedding plans to a
woman in Kuwait.
In June 2010, however, counter-terrorism officials in Britain
detained him again – this time fingerprinting him and searching his
belongings. When he tried to fly back to Kuwait the next day, he was
prevented from doing so. In his final interrogation he claimed to have
been strangled by a police officer.
Emwazi is thought to have been incensed by the decision to bar him
from Kuwait, the land of his birth, and where he had worked and planned
to marry.
“I had a job waiting for me and marriage to get started,” he wrote in
a June 2010 email to Cage. But now “I feel like a prisoner, only not in
a cage, in London. A person imprisoned & controlled by security
service men, stopping me from living my new life in my birthplace &
country, Kuwait.”
The west London home where Mohammed Emwazi reportedly lived.
Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters
Cage said that it spent two years communicating with Emwazi, in which
he highlighted interference by the UK security agencies as he sought to
find redress within the system.
He told the organisation: “I have been trying to find out the reason
for my refused visa issue from my home country Kuwait, and a way to
solve the issue. So through my friends in Kuwait, it has been said to me
that Kuwait has no problem with me entering, and the reason for my
refusal is simply because the UK agents have told them to not let me
in!!”
Asim Qureshi, research director of Cage, said there were parallels with the killer of Lee Rigby, Michael Adebolajo.
“Suffocating domestic policies aimed at turning a person into an
informant but which prevent a person from fulfilling their basic life
needs would have left a lasting impression on Emwazi. He desperately
wanted to use the system to change his situation, but the system
ultimately rejected him.”
But a leading researcher into counter-terrorism and intelligence,
Shashank Joshi of the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said
it was MI5’s job to recruit informers.
He rejected the Cage narrative of radicalisation by the British state
as simplistic. “It seems to me MI5 did a reasonable job,” Joshi said.
MI5 had enough evidence to show Emwazi was associated with radical
elements early on and had good reason to watch him, he said.
Close friends of Emwazi told the Post that his situation in London
had made him desperate to leave the country. It is unclear exactly when
he reached Syria or how.
One friend said he believed Emwazi wanted to travel to Saudi Arabia
to teach English in 2012 but was unsuccessful. He left soon afterwards,
the friend said.
“He was upset and wanted to start a life elsewhere,” one of the
friends said. “He at some stage reached the point where he was really
just trying to find another way to get out.”
By 2012 he told friends he wanted to go to Syria. Almost all advised him against it.
Before he was named publicly, web searches for his name brought up
only results from the electoral roll, listing various west London
addresses where he lived with his family.
Similarly, his brother’s Facebook account has been deleted, as have
various social media, and UK LinkedIn profiles connected to his sister,
though she now appears to have a new, Kuwait-based LinkedIn page.
Emwazi and Berjawi were members of a loose-knit group of young
Muslims from the North Kensington area of west London who attended the
same mosques and played five-a-side football together.
Another member of the group, Mohamed Sakr, was killed in a drone
strike in Somalia a few weeks after Berjawi. Although born in the UK, he
was a dual UK-Egyptian national; the UK government had stripped him of
his British citizenship shortly before he was killed.
Some members of this group were investigated by MI5 because of their
links with the men who attempted to carry out a wave of bombings on
London’s underground train network on 21 July 2005.
Others came to the attention of the authorities in other ways.
Mohammed Ezzouek, for example, who attended North Westminster Community
school with Berjawi, was interrogated by British intelligence officers
after a trip to Somalia in 2006; another schoolmate, Tariq al-Daour, has
been released from jail after serving a sentence for inciting
terrorism.
Controversial: Naomi Wolf, 51, sparked fury on social media after questioning the authenticity of the ISIS beheading videos
Author Naomi Wolf has been accused of being 'disrespectful' after suggesting footage of hostages being beheaded by ISIS militants isn't real.
The 51-year-old American writer made a series of controversial statements questioning the authenticity of the footage in a number of messages on her Facebook page.
The initial post in which the feminist activist questions where the terror group are 'getting all these folks from' was deleted.
In another post, she also said that the Obama administration was sending troops to West Africa to confront the Ebola outbreak so they could return with the deadly infection - justifying a military takeover of Africa.
Social media users quickly rounded on her with some suggesting her theories were 'crazy' while others said her views were 'harmful' and had disrespected the victims' families.
A video released on Friday appeared to show British hostage Alan Henning being beheaded by Jihadi John.
He is the fourth person to have been brutally murdered at the hands of the
extremists, and a fifth, former Army ranger Peter Kaggis, has been
threatened as the next victim.
After making the controversial statements over the weekend, Wolf defended her actions saying she was criticizing the reporting of the story - suggesting the video had not
been properly confirmed by two sources.
The post, that was later taken down, said: 'OK two of the hostages just happened to go from longcareers into the military to... sudden humanitarian work (same was true of the latest British hostage). Where are they getting all these folks from?
'If someone is abducted there is a record with Amnesty and
with Reporters without Borders. Can someone please confirm that these
organizations have any record of this person having been abducted?
'The NYT (New York Times) yesterday ran a depressingly sloppy editorial claiming that all the ISIS beheading videos must be real because 'there are so many of them on youtube'.
'THAT's journalism? They also called ISIS 'evil' many times - which is not langauge of a news analysis, it is a theological category for some faiths and a Global War on Terror talking point... this may all be true but it takes five people to stage an event like this - two to be 'parents' - two to pose for the cameras... one in a ninja outfit... and one to contact the media that does not bother checking who ANY of these four other people are...'
During the social media backlash, Mark Boothroyd said: 'Don't insult these people who have given their lives for humanitarian work.
'The activities of all these people have been well documented over the years.
They are known people with families and friends who have supported
them. Stop spreading conspiracy theories.'
Anger: This post, which has since been deleted, from Naomi Wolf caused controversy, saying the video was staged and questioning where the hostages who have been executed came from
Retort: Following the post and the reaction on social media, Wolf clarified that ISIS are 'super bad'
And Matt Hill added: 'A minimal amount of research would show you you're wrong – there's plenty of information out there about the hostages.'
After
noticing some of the responses, she took to her Facebook page again and wrote: 'I stand by what I wrote today: the videos of beheadings need to be independently confirmed before they are part of the historical record. They may well be completely accurate but there are not yet independent confirmations that they are accurate.'
Another post said: 'A commentator below self-identified as being the New York Times reporter covering the hostage crisis. This reporter asked me to take my post about asking for confirmation of the hostage story down, as this reporter said that keeping it up is "irresponsible" and not respectful
to the pain of the families involved.
'Once again to clarify. The reason I ask that media check and confirm a story like the series ofvideotaped beheadings of aid workers and journalists is that that is what journalists are supposed to do. It is sad and baffling to me that my post below reminding journalists to get two sources confirming information before they run stories repeating government talking points,
is being interpreted as "a conspiracy theory".'
She also condemned President Obama's decision to send troops to Western Africa to
help combat the Ebola outbreak, suggesting the military will bring it back to the United States.
She said: 'And...TV news in US reporting Department of Defense is sending three thousand troops to Liberia..troops with no medical expertise..to construct and run field hospitals for Ebola....then they will be quarantined for 21 days...and
eventually come home.
'Disrespectful': One Twitter user reacted angrily to the statement suggesting the comments were 'horrible'
Reaction: Canadian commentator Colby Cosh said Wolf had crossed over into 'baseless conspiracy theories'
History: Another user referred to her past achievements when questioning her controversial views
'A
crazy idea as Liberia and Sierra Leone already have a dense
infrastructure if medical aid organizations on the ground...many Western
ones...that already have doctors nurses and well tested medical
education networks that were activated to educate people about AIDs. I
was in Freetown and witnessed this.
'What they don't have is
enough doctors or supplies. They need the CDC not the Pentagon. So why
send soldiers with no medical background?
'A. Militarized Africa
has long been on the agenda but B. Three thousand Ebola-exposed American
troops creates a direct vector into the US and whatever happens a
narrative can exist to justify military condoning of US
populations...quarantining Americans...emergency measures to limit
travel...crisis best left to military not civil authorities.
'People
in Liberia and Sierra Leone know perfectly well how to build more
buildings for more beds..these are modern societies...they just need
money. There is no practical reason to put our soldiers in the eye if
ebola. That is why I dont (sic) like this narrative.'
Resolute: In her most recent post, the author has said that she stands by what | Daily Mail Online
The gruesome video, first reported by the SITE Intelligence Group,
is nearly identical to those showing Foley and Sotloff's executions.
The clip begins with Haines reading a statement blaming British Prime
Minister David Cameron for his death. From the video's transcript:
My name is David Cawthorne Haines. I would like to declare that I
hold you, David Cameron, entirely responsible for my execution. You
entered voluntarily into a coalition with the United States against the
Islamic State, just as you're predecessor, Tony Blair, did. Following a
trend amongst our British Prime Ministers who can't find the courage to
say no to the Americans. Unfortunately, it is we, the British public,
that will in the end pay the price for our Parliaments selfish
decisions.
The executioner, apparently the same man
who killed Sotloff and Foley, then reads a statement, calling Cameron an
"obedient lapdog" who "will only drag you and your people into another
bloody and unwinnable war," and pulls a knife to Haines' throat. The
video then fades to black, before returning to show Haines' severed head
on top of his body.
The video ends with the executioner
threatening to kill a second British hostage, identified as Alen
Henning: "If you, Cameron, persist in fighting the Islamic State, then
you, like your master Obama, will have the blood of your people on your
hands."
Cameron appeared to confirm the beheading later Saturday, calling it an "act of pure evil" in a statement.
Haines
was captured in a small Syrian village in March 2013 while working with
a French group to deliver humanitarian aid. His abduction had been a
secret until the publication of Sotloff's execution video earlier this
month.
Haines is survived by his wife, Dragana, and two
daughters. On Friday, his family released a statement directed at ISIS.
"We are the family of David Haines," the message said. "We have sent
messages to you to which we have not received a reply. We are asking
those holding David to make contact with us."
The beheading of the US journalist by a man speaking with an English
accent revives concerns that British passport holders who travel to
fight in Iraq and Syria may commit attacks on British soil.
MURDERED. A picture taken on November 5, 2012 in Aleppo, Syria, shows US freelance reporter James Foley. Nicole Tung/AFP
LONDON, United Kingdom – Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Sunday, August 24, that the killing of US journalist James Foley by a man speaking with an English accent was an "utter betrayal of our country."
Hammond's comments came amid growing concern in London that British
passport holders who travel to fight in Iraq and Syria could return to
commit attacks on British soil. (READ: US brands Foley beheading 'terrorist attack'
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) jihadist group posted a video of Foley's killing online Tuesday, August 19.
In it, a masked militant with a London accent executed the journalist, who had been missing since his capture in Syria in 2012.
The Sunday Times newspaper, citing unnamed senior government sources,
reported that intelligence services MI5 and MI6 have identified the
fighter suspected of killing Foley but the sources did not divulge the
suspect's name.
"It is horrifying to think that the perpetrator of this heinous act
could have been brought up in Britain," Hammond wrote in an article
published in this week's Sunday Times.
"It is an utter betrayal of our country, our values and everything the British people stand for."
Hammond also warned that ISIS was "turning a swathe of Iraq and Syria
into a terrorist state as a base for launching attacks on the West."
He added: "Unless they are stopped, sooner or later they will seek to strike us on British soil."
Britain has ruled out sending ground troops into Iraq to fight the jihadists.
But it is taking steps including sending equipment to Kurdish
peshmerga fighters to help combat them, as well as offering humanitarian
assistance.
The government is under pressure at home to step up action to prevent
the radicalization of young Muslims in Britain, some of whom then
travel abroad to fight.
More than 500 Britons have travelled to Syria or Iraq to fight with
jihadists in the last few years, according to the intelligence services.
Home Secretary Theresa May indicated Saturday that she could invoke
fresh powers to combat radicalization, including banning orders for
militant groups.
But the main opposition Labour Party has accused the government of
not moving quickly enough or providing enough specifics on what it
intends to do. – Rappler.com
Details are emerging of the British Muslims who appear in an apparent recruitment video for jihadists in Iraq and Syria.
Two of the men are Nasser Muthana and Reyaad Khan, both 20 and from Cardiff.
The BBC has learned a third Briton in the video is from Aberdeen, where he has been named locally as Raqib.
The video, which cannot be verified, was posted by online
accounts linked to militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant (Isis).
Isis has a presence in Syria and is engaged in fierce fighting with Iraqi government forces.
'Betrayed Britain'
In the video Reyaad Khan, who went to Cantonian High School
and St David's Catholic College in Cardiff, is seen holding a gun and
sitting next to his friend Nasser Muthana.
“Start Quote
My sons have betrayed their family and betrayed their country which is Britain”
End Quote Ahmed Muthana
Nasser Muthana - who has been
offered places to study medicine by four universities - appears in the
footage, using the name Abu Muthanna al-Yemen and urging others to fight
in Syria and Iraq.
His father, Ahmed Muthana, said his son - who he described as
quiet, well-educated and intelligent - had left the UK to fight in
Syria in November.
Mr Muthana said he was "heartbroken".
"I don't think that's Nasser talking, it's someone else is
teaching him to talk like this because the attitude of Nasser is 100%
completely different," he said.
He also told the BBC that his 17-year-old son Aseel had travelled to the country in February.
The electronics engineer, who has two other sons, aged 23 and
10, said police took computers and mobile phones from the family home
in Butetown, Cardiff, after he disappeared.
Aseel Muthana (left) and his older brother Nasser (right)
"They have never told us if they found anything on them," he said,
"But when I saw my sons on their computers they would be watching films or wrestling which they were very interested in."
His sons had "betrayed their family and betrayed their
country which is Britain" and he feared they would "come back to me in a
coffin", he added.
Meanwhile, the mother of Reyaad Khan said she believed her son had been brainwashed and appealed for him to come home.
"Reyaad, please come back home," she told Sky News.
"I'm dying for you. You're my only son. Please come home,
Reyaad. Please send me son back home. He's my one and only son. I and my
family need him back."
She added that she was "absolutely shocked and devastated".
Her son's Facebook page revealed that he had fairly typical
interests for a young man of his age, including computer games, Chelsea
football club and his family's new pet kitten.
However, it also shows that in 2012 he became angry about an online video which lampooned Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
The man from Aberdeen, identified in the apparent Isis video
as Brother Abu Bara' al Hindi, was born in Bangladesh but grew up in
Scotland, the BBC has learned.
One former acquaintance spoke of his shock at seeing the man
sitting with other self-declared jihadists, holding a gun, and urging
other people from the West to take part in jihad.
The former acquaintance, who does not want to be named for
fear of retribution, said the man had regularly been in trouble as a
young teenager.
"I was shocked," he told the BBC, adding "it seemed utterly mad".
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis)
Isis grew out of an al-Qaeda-linked organisation in Iraq
Estimated 10,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria
Joined in its offensives by other Sunni militant groups,
including Saddam-era officers and soldiers, and disaffected Sunni tribal
fighters
Exploits standoff between Iraqi government and the minority
Sunni Arab community, which complains that Shia Prime Minister Nouri
Maliki is monopolising power
Led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, an obscure figure regarded as a battlefield commander and tactician
Sheikh Zane Abdo, from South Wales Islamic Centre, says it is "quite obvious" there is a problem with extremist views in Cardiff
Zane Abdo, imam of the South Wales Islamic Centre, said he knew
the families of both Cardiff men that appeared in the video, but the
men didn't attend his classes or sermons.
"They went though a phase of practising their faith a lot more outwardly, but they were very normal boys," he said.
He said he believed the men had been groomed.
"These are young men who are very sincere, they want to do
something good. But you can be sincere and you can be sincerely deluded
in what you want to do, and they have been groomed to think a particular
way."
The imam also told the BBC he had spoken about them in his sermons.
"I spoke about the older one going abroad in a sermon, seven
months before the media heard anything, saying it was wrong. When the
younger one went, I myself gave a more explicit sermon based on
scriptures, of why this is wrong," he said.
Emwazi studied computer programming at the University of Westmister in Lonon
