Last night, the Pentagon confirmed an airstrike made by the U.S. Military on Thursday, targeting Mohammed Emwazi, known as “Jihadi John,” one of the masked Islamic State killers and executioners.
Nevertheless, the US Secretary of State John Kerry and Britain Prime Minister David Cameron have said today that they don’t know the outcome of the attack, near the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, Syria.
David Cameron spoke in a briefing in London, where he labeled the Islamic State as an “evil terrorist death cult,” as he defended the decision behind the airstrike to kill Emwazi, a British citizen. He claimed the attack was an act of self-defense, and the proper thing to be done.
“We have been working, with the United States, literally around the clock to track him down. This was a combined effort, and the contribution of both our countries was essential. Emwazi is a barbaric murderer,” Cameron added.
Also, Cameron considers Emwazi as a threat to civilians all around the world, as he pointed out that as an ISIS executioner, he has killed many people, including Muslims too. He concluded by thanking the U.S. for carrying the attack.
On the other hand, Mr. Kerry stated that the attack should serve as a warning to all terrorists, as he sees no future for the Islamic State. Peter Cook, the Pentagon’s press secretary announced that they are evaluating the results of the military operation in order to provide more information when they consider it appropriate.
However, the BBC reported Friday that a “senior military source” stated to them that there was a “high degree of certainty” that Emwazi was hit by the attack.
The latest airborne attack
“Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently,” a Syrian activist group, reported that a drone striked a car near the Islamic Court, downtown Raqqa. The group, that constantly monitors events in the city, said that the attack occurred before midnight.
They reported on the twitter that the drone strike happened among a dozen blasts heard, during a wave of attacks. Also, they said that the probable death of Emwazi happened near the clock tower where ISIS use to execute people.
‘Jihadi John’s’ background
Emwazi is considered the most important British member of ISIS, appearing in videos since late 2014 beheading and executing several Americans and western civilian hostages. His first appearance was made in the video of the execution of the journalist James Foley.
According to the Washington Post, who revealed his identity, he was born in Kuwait but grew up in London, where he graduated from the University of Westminster on computer programming.
Since 2000, he has formed part of several groups of young Muslims that were alienated from the British and western society, and he forms part of the thousands of European citizens who traveled to Syria and Iraq to become part of the Islamic Estate.
Source: The New York Times