British and American sources confirmed that there is a “high degree of certainty” that the Islamic State extremist Mohammad Emwazi was killed in a joint airstrike by the British and US military who reportedly worked “hand in glove”.
The Isis terrorist is known as “Jihadi John” and had appearing in a gruesome propaganda videos depicting the beheadings of eight hostages. The reports of the air raids in Syria targeting Emwazi were confirmed by the Pentagon on Friday.
Official statements from both the governments in Britain and the US are expected soon as it is confirmed that the US that the American military was 99% certain that he had been killed in a drone strike.
While the Pentagon confirmed the death of the Isis militant, there was a more cautious response from Downing Street and the British Ministry of Defense as the sources said that the government was certain that there was a “high degree of certainty that he has been killed”.
A No 10 spokesman added that the UK military had been working “hand in glove” with the US on the operation.
“US forces conducted an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, on 12 November 2015 targeting Mohamed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John,” said the Pentagon press secretary, Peter Cook while giving details of the strike overnight on Friday.
“Emwazi, a British citizen, participated in the videos showing the murders of US journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, American aid worker Abdul-Rahman (Peter) Kassig, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto and a number of other hostages,” he said
“We are assessing the results of tonight’s operation and will provide additional information as and where appropriate,” he added.
“The prime minister will make a statement later today. We have been working hand in glove with the Americans to defeat Isil and to hunt down those murdering hostages. The prime minister has said before that tracking down these brutal murderers was a top priority,” a spokesman for No 10 told the media.
A drone had targeted a vehicle believed to be carrying Emwazi in Raqqa, the de facto capital of Isis in northern Syria, an unnamed US official, said the Associated Press quoting an unnamed US official.
Fox News reported a senior US military source saying that it was “99% sure we got him”.
Airstrikes and an explosion during the night of 12 November were reported by activist groups in Raqqa. One of eight strikes in Syria on Thursday had struck an Isis tactical unit, a US military statement said.
Tokyo was liaising with Washington over the outcome of the airstrikes, said Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga.
In a statement released by the Japanese government, it noted: “ We are aware of the Pentagon’s press statement on this matter, and we understand that the Pentagon is assessing the results of the operation. The government of Japan is in contact with the US government about the details.”
It is believed that Emwazi was the Isis terrorist who had beheaded two Japanese hostages - journalist kenji Goto and security consultant Haruna Yukawa, earlier this year. The visuals of the beheading were released in late January by the militant group in the video named ‘A Message to the Government of Japan’ where a a militant who looks and sounded like Emwazi was seen armed with a knife and dressed in black with his face covered and standing behind Goto before beheading him.
Isis had targeted Japan after the country announced granting of $200m in non-military aid to countries engaged in the fight against the group.
(Source:wwww.reurters.com & www.theguardian.com)
The Isis terrorist is known as “Jihadi John” and had appearing in a gruesome propaganda videos depicting the beheadings of eight hostages. The reports of the air raids in Syria targeting Emwazi were confirmed by the Pentagon on Friday.
Official statements from both the governments in Britain and the US are expected soon as it is confirmed that the US that the American military was 99% certain that he had been killed in a drone strike.
While the Pentagon confirmed the death of the Isis militant, there was a more cautious response from Downing Street and the British Ministry of Defense as the sources said that the government was certain that there was a “high degree of certainty that he has been killed”.
A No 10 spokesman added that the UK military had been working “hand in glove” with the US on the operation.
“US forces conducted an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, on 12 November 2015 targeting Mohamed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John,” said the Pentagon press secretary, Peter Cook while giving details of the strike overnight on Friday.
“Emwazi, a British citizen, participated in the videos showing the murders of US journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, American aid worker Abdul-Rahman (Peter) Kassig, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto and a number of other hostages,” he said
“We are assessing the results of tonight’s operation and will provide additional information as and where appropriate,” he added.
“The prime minister will make a statement later today. We have been working hand in glove with the Americans to defeat Isil and to hunt down those murdering hostages. The prime minister has said before that tracking down these brutal murderers was a top priority,” a spokesman for No 10 told the media.
A drone had targeted a vehicle believed to be carrying Emwazi in Raqqa, the de facto capital of Isis in northern Syria, an unnamed US official, said the Associated Press quoting an unnamed US official.
Fox News reported a senior US military source saying that it was “99% sure we got him”.
Airstrikes and an explosion during the night of 12 November were reported by activist groups in Raqqa. One of eight strikes in Syria on Thursday had struck an Isis tactical unit, a US military statement said.
Tokyo was liaising with Washington over the outcome of the airstrikes, said Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga.
In a statement released by the Japanese government, it noted: “ We are aware of the Pentagon’s press statement on this matter, and we understand that the Pentagon is assessing the results of the operation. The government of Japan is in contact with the US government about the details.”
It is believed that Emwazi was the Isis terrorist who had beheaded two Japanese hostages - journalist kenji Goto and security consultant Haruna Yukawa, earlier this year. The visuals of the beheading were released in late January by the militant group in the video named ‘A Message to the Government of Japan’ where a a militant who looks and sounded like Emwazi was seen armed with a knife and dressed in black with his face covered and standing behind Goto before beheading him.
Isis had targeted Japan after the country announced granting of $200m in non-military aid to countries engaged in the fight against the group.
(Source:wwww.reurters.com & www.theguardian.com)