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Image posted, Reuters
Alexandra Koti (left) and Al-Sheikh Al-Shaikh were arrested by Syrian Kurdish fighters
In the United States, two former British citizens suspected of belonging to ISIS have been charged with terrorism-related offenses in connection with the murder of four American hostages.
And he accuses Alexandra Koti and Al Shafaa Al Sheikh of belonging to a cell affiliated with the Islamic State, called the “Beatles”, which was involved in kidnappings in Iraq and Syria.
The two men are currently in FBI detention and will appear in United States federal court in Virginia later.
The two men, who were in US military custody in Iraq, deny the charges.
Assistant Attorney General John Demers said the charges brought against the two men were “the result of years of hard work to obtain justice” for the four slain Americans, namely James Foley, Stephen Sotloff, Kayla Muller and Peter Cassig.
He added: “These two men will be brought before a United States court to face justice for the heinous acts mentioned in their indictment.”
The charges carry life in prison.
The two men are believed to be members of an Islamic State cell responsible for the deaths of hostages in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
The victims, including American journalists and British and American aid workers, were beheaded and scenes of their murder were videotaped and posted on social media.
Coty and the Sheikh were members of the cell, which the hostages called the “Beatles” cell, referring to the famous rock band of the 1960s because of their British accent.
Another member of the cell, Muhammad Emwazi, known as “Jihadi John”, was killed in a drone attack in 2016.
The two men, who are from West London, have been stripped of their British nationality.
The charges against him include:
- Conspiring to kidnap hostages resulted in death
- Hostage kidnapping led to death
- Conspiracy to kill American citizens outside the United States
- Conspiracy to support terrorists: kidnapping and murder of hostages
- The conspiracy and the provision of support to an organization classified as a terrorist resulted in the death
The United States had requested Britain’s help in the case, but a legal dispute over the use of the death penalty hampered its cooperation.
And the United States vowed last month not to execute Koti and Al Sheikh if convicted.
“The strongest possible cause”
Frank Gardner Analysis – Security Correspondent
It took around eight years to get to this moment, from the day that James Foley and John Cantley were taken hostage in Syria until the indictment against two of the alleged perpetrators, who are now in US custody, was read.
Each of the charges against the two men carries a life sentence.
The two men had denied the allegations related to their involvement in the killing of American and British hostages.
However, the governments of the United States and Britain seem confident that there is strong support for the trial.
The court is likely to hear some of the gruesome testimony from those who escaped ISIS captivity: men who gained their freedom in exchange for millions of dollars in ransoms, while others from the United States and Britain were horribly killed by their captors. .
ISIS controlled an area of 88,000 square kilometers that stretched from western Syria to eastern Iraq, and imposed a brutal rule on some 8 million people.
The liberation of these areas revealed the magnitude of the violations committed by the organization, including assassinations, torture, amputations, ethno-sectarian attacks, rape and sexual slavery against women and girls, and mass graves containing the remains of thousands were also found. of people.
The United Nations investigators concluded that ISIS militants committed acts that amounted to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
