Two British men, identified as “British”, were charged with aiding and abetting the torture and killing of an Islamic State militant group in Syria, including four Americans – who were brought to the United States on Wednesday on charges of terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.
Alexandra Cote and Al Shafi El Sheikh were to appear in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. U.S. Officials said they were involved in the kidnapping of international hostages, including U.S. Supporting activists Kayla Mueller and Peter Cassig and U.S. Journalists include James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
Mueller was tortured and sexually abused before his death in 2015. The two British men confessed to their involvement in the abduction and capture in an interview with NBC News, which aired in July. They also confessed to beating Foley.
“This sounds miraculous,” James’s mother said Diane Foley told the British press On wednesday
“This is a big step and hopefully these men will trap others and provide information about where our children’s remains are,” he said, thanking governments on all sides of the Atlantic for taking this first step to justice. “
Court documents state that in the detention of the Americans and others, “Kote and Elshech inspected the detention facilities and were responsible for transferring them between detention facilities.” Men are “associated with a long line of physical and mental violence against hostages.”
Zach Terviliger, a U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said they suffered pain, anguish and cruelty, including witnessing an electrical device murder, mock execution and forcing body shocks.
Officials said the video, led by Mohammed Imwaji, was part of a group of two British men believed to have killed Foley in the beheading recorded in the video. Imwazi – known as “Jihadi John”, was killed in 2015 by CIA drones with Hellfire missiles.
Some of the ISIS hijackers, who managed to escape, said they named the four “The Beatles” because of British accents. Fourth, Ian Leslie Davis was sentenced in 2017 to seven and a half years in prison in Turkey.
American and British officials said the men were responsible for 27 murders, including the beheadings of Foley, Sotloff and Kassig, as well as British aid workers David Haynes and Alan Henning.
Kote and Elshech have denied involvement in the killings and torture in previous interviews, describing themselves as “contacts” between hostages and more senior members of ISIS, such as Imwazi.
In an interview with NBC News, Cote and Elsheich gave new details about Mueller’s time in captivity. “I took an email from him myself.” Officials said it was used to demand ransom from his family.
“She was in a big room, it was dark and she was alone, and … she was so scared,” El Sheikh said in an interview.
Captured by the Kurdish army in 2018, Kote and El Sheikh were handed over to the U.S. military last year and were in U.S. custody in Iraq amid questions about when and where they would face justice.
The families of the Americans killed by ISIS said in a joint statement on Wednesday that they were “relieved” that both men had been brought to the United States for trial.
“James, Peter, Kaila and Steven were abducted, tortured, beaten, starved and killed by members of the Islamic State in Syria. Now our families can take responsibility for these crimes against our children in US courts.”
Legal action in the United Kingdom delayed the transfer of the young man for trial. British authorities said they had been told the U.S. Were prevented from giving evidence which was obtained by their investigators. A UK judge has lifted a ban on sharing information, citing U.S. Paved the way for the prosecution
Adela Suleiman Contributed.
