The man clad in black from head to toe featured in many of the Islamic State's public videos of beheading its victims was widely called "Jihadi John," and had been known to be a British man due to his accent when raging threats against the U.S. and its allies. The Washington Post reported on Thursday that he has been identified as Mohammed Emwazi from London.
Emwazi, who is reported to be 26 years old, was born in Kuwait, but moved to the U.K. during childhood and eventually graduated with a degree in computer programming from the University of Westminster, according to reports.
It seems that most of the confirmation has been done through close friends and others who have known Emwazi. Some friends told the Washington Post that Emwazi, though he had been Muslim, started to radicalize after going on a trip to Tanzania soon after graduation from college. Emwazi had also been stopped by the British government when he attempted to travel to places including Tanzania, Somalia, and Kuwait, on suspicions that he may be traveling to join extremists group such as al-Shabaab or the Islamic State.
Though the Washington Post reported that U.S. officials "declined to comment" regarding the news, the Guardian, however, said that a U.S. government official did confirm Emwazi's identity:
"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 Guardian reports.
Britain has consistently refused to confirm or deny his identity.
"Our prime minister has been clear that we want all those who have committed murder on behalf of ISIL to face justice for the appalling acts carried out," a spokeswoman for the British Embassy in Washington told the Washington Post. "There is an ongoing police investigation into the murder of hostages by ISIL in Syria. It is not appropriate for the government to comment on any part of it while this continues."
