The Beatles (terrorist cell)

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Epeefleche (talk | contribs) at 07:08, 16 September 2014 (Undid (while I didn't do the merge, it makes sense, and I note no other consensus disagreement with it) revision 625775846 by Betty Logan (talk)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 07:08, 16 September 2014 by Epeefleche (talk | contribs) (Undid (while I didn't do the merge, it makes sense, and I note no other consensus disagreement with it) revision 625775846 by Betty Logan (talk))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Feel free to improve this article or discuss changes on the talk page, but please note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed. (Learn how and when to remove this message)

An editor has nominated this article for deletion.
You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion, which will decide whether or not to retain it.Feel free to improve the article, but do not remove this notice before the discussion is closed. For more information, see the guide to deletion.
Find sources: "The Beatles" terrorist cell – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR%5B%5BWikipedia%3AArticles+for+deletion%2FThe+Beatles+%28terrorist+cell%29%5D%5DAFD

The Beatles (terrorist cell)
Countries	Within portions of Syria and Iraq (in the self-declared, unrecognized Islamic State)
Allegiance	ISIS
Role	Guards and executioners
Size	3
Garrison/HQ	Syria
Nickname(s)	The Beatles
Colors	Black
Commanders
Ringleader	Jihadi John
Members	Jihadi George Jihadi Ringo

Military unit

The Beatles, dubbed as such by their former and current hostages because of their British accents, are an active Islamic State (IS) terrorist cell of three members nicknamed John, Paul, and Ringo by the hostages. They are responsible for beheadings in Iraq and Syria, most notably as shown in the beheading videos of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British aid worker David Haines.

Cell

The Beatles are three of an estimated 500 British Muslims fighting on behalf of the jihadist Islamic State to impose a caliphate in Syria and Iraq. The Beatles are reportedly harsher than other Islamic State guards. They are the most feared of the jihadists because of their taste for the macabre and their beatings, use of Taser guns, and waterboarding, according to a freed French hostage.

Islamic State fighters are believed to be holding more than 20 foreign hostages.

Jihadi John

File:Jihadi John facial.jpg

A computer generated image of what Jihadi John may look like.

"Jihadi John" is the nickname given by news media to an unidentified member of the Islamic State (IS; previously ISIS or ISIL) known for appearing to be the murderer responsible for several beheading incidents in 2014. Jihadi John was given his nickname by a group of released hostages who said he was the leader of the terrorist cell called "The Beatles", and handled relations with families of foreign hostages. The nickname was based on John Lennon of the British rock band the Beatles, with other members of the cell known as "George" and "Ringo" after Beatles George Harrison and Ringo Starr, as the cell members all had British accents.

The jihadist known as "John" has been identified by the British counter-intelligence and security agency MI5, and appeared in a beheading video as Foley's killer. He spoke with a British accent in the video, and UK Prime Minister David Cameron said: “from what we have seen it looks increasingly likely that it is a British citizen.”

Identification and manhunt

Jihadi John became the focus 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 that, 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 sports 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 backs of his hands, and his voice and clothes. A team of analysts might use the topography of the landscape in the video to 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.

On 14 September, David Cameron confirmed that Jihadi John's identity is known, it has yet to be revealed.

Possible identity

Executions

Syrian soldier

In a video posted on Instagram in May 2014, a man who investigators believe may be Jihadi John is seen in a video killing a Syrian soldier. It shows a soldier loyal to President Bashar al-Assad crouching in a field in Syria, then being shot in the back of the head by a man armed with a pistol.

James Foley

Main article: James Foley (journalist)

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 intervention in Iraq. The masked man then beheaded Foley off-camera, after which he threatened to behead Steven Sotloff if his demands are not met. The FBI and United States National Security Council confirmed that the video, which included footage of Foley's beheaded corpse, is genuine.

Steven Sotloff

File:Hostage Steven Sotloff held by executioner.jpg

Steven Sotloff being held by Jihadi John at the end of the James Foley beheading video

Main article: 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

Main article: David Cawthorne Haines

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

Analysis of beheading videos

Official analysis

Officially the FBI and United States National Security Council confirmed that the videos, which ended with footage of beheaded corpses, are 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 IS that is under the authority of the IS'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 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 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 video was "expertly staged". 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 video was taken at a spot in the hills south of the Syrian city of Raqqa.

Jihadi John claims there are more than 20 hostages remaining. Many hostage families choose not to reveal their relatives' names to avoid drawing attention to them and thus compromising their safety.

Reactions

United States - 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.

United Kingdom - 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".

The use of "Beatles" as a nickname for the group elicited a response from Ringo Starr, who stated his disgust at the use of his former band's name in this context, adding that the Beatles had stood for peace and opposed violence.