Start of ISIS onslaught? Warplanes spotted above Syria after Jihadi John is 'killed'

The airstrike targeted a convoy believed to be carrying the killer

ISLAMIC STATE (ISIS) militants have been thrown into panic as warplanes zoomed above their stronghold in Syria, just hours after their most wanted executioner Jihadi John was thought to have been killed in an airstrike.

 

The British ISIS militant called Mohammed Emwazi was “eviscerated” in a US drone strike as he left a building in the city of Raqqa.

Officials in the US are now scrambling to confirm he has died as a result of the "clean hit", after the Pentagon confirmed the strike took place in the Syrian city.

 

But one unnamed defence official said the savage fighter “evaporated” after a “flawless” strike.

 

The insider said the US drone strike came after "persistent surveillance” - claiming that authorities knew it was Emwazi when they struck.

UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights reported today that up to four jihadis were hit in the attack, and that the body of "an important British jihadi" is lying in a hospital in Raqqa.

ISIS officials have since claimed that Emwazi, who has become the face of the militant group, was injured but survived the attack.

However, locals in Raqqa reported their hospital has been closed off to the public - an event they claimed only happens when a senior militant has been killed.

 

The terror group have also been thrown into more alarm this afternoon after warplanes were reportedly seen flying over Raqqa, causing the twisted jihadis to blare sirens, according to an anti-ISIS campaign group.

This morning the UK Government said it had been "working hand in glove" with America "to hunt down those murdering hostages" in ISIS.

A total of 14 airstrikes struck the war-torn city between 11:15pm and midnight, with one of the first targeting a car near the Raqqa Islamic court, according to activists.

We are 99 per cent sure we got him

Senior Official

The evil jihadi was said to have been hit near a symbolic clock tower where twisted ISIS militants have been known to conduct sickening kills and executions.

The area was then closed off by ISIS militants to prevent anyone from entering.

A senior US defence official said: "We are 99 per cent sure we got him. We were on him for some time."

While a senior military source said there is a "high degree of certainty" the notorious killer was hit by the strike after being "tracked carefully over a period of time", according to the BBC.

But the Pentagon insists it is still assessing the outcome of the operation. 

Pentagon Press secretary Peter Cook said: “US forces conducted an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, on November 12, 2015 targeting Mohamed Emwazi, also known as ‘Jihadi John’.

“We are assessing the results of tonight's operation and will provide additional information as and where appropriate.”

 

Three other foreign jihadis are said to have also been hit when the drone struck Emwazi's vehicle, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The group's director Rami Abdulrahman said: "A car carrying four foreign Islamic State leaders, including one British Jihadi was hit by US airstrikes right after the governorate building in Raqqa city.

"All the sources there are saying that the body of an important British Jihadi is lying in the hospital of Raqqa. All the sources are saying it is of Jihadi John but I cannot confirm it personally."

 

Prime Minister David Cameron today welcomed the reported killing of Jihadi John as he branded him a "barbaric murderer".

He added that Britain had been working round the clock with the US to track down and target the militant.

In a statement outside 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister said: "This was an act of self defence. It was the right thing to do."

 

Mr Cameron added: "Emwazi is a barbaric murderer. He was shown in those sickening videos of the beheading of British aid workers.

"He posed an ongoing and serious threat to innocent civilians not only in Syria, but around the world and in the United Kingdom too.

"He was Isil's lead executioner, and let us never forget that he killed many, many Muslims too.

"And he was intent on murdering many more people. So this was an act of self-defence. It was the right thing to do."

 

UKIP defence spokesman, Mike Hookem MEP also praised the news, saying; "Mohammed Emwazi allowed himself to be used as a propaganda tool by a group of barbarians and now his opponents are using his death in the same way.

"Emwazi gave IS the oxygen of publicity through his inhuman acts and it was imperative the forces opposed to IS acted to stop further killings by this vile man."

However, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Emwazi should have faced justice in court instead of being killed.

He said: “We await identification of the person targeted in last night's US air attack in Syria. 

“It appears Mohammed Emwazi has been held to account for his callous and brutal crimes.

 



There has been plenty of reaction following the news of Emwazi's reported death

"However, it would have been far better for us all if he had been held to account in a court of law.

“These events only underline the necessity of accelerating international efforts, under the auspices of the UN, to bring an end to the Syrian conflict as part of a comprehensive regional settlement.” 

Campaign group Cage, which sparked controversy after its research director labelled Emwazi as once "extremely kind", also called for the ISIS jihadi to face punishment and said his death "is evidence that the US and UK do not consider the families of hostages in their actions".

Director of Cage Dr Adnan Siddiqui said: "Emwazi's execution of defenceless hostages was inexcusable. But all avenues that led him to that point need to be investigated.

"Cage’s repeated efforts and offers to negotiate for the release of Alan Henning were obstructed and squandered by the UK government and serious questions remain regarding these failures."

 

Professor Anthony Gleeson, director of the University of Buckingham's Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies, warned there now may be a "small number" of people in the UK who will now want revenge for Emwazi's killing.

He said: "There will be a small number of people who are turned on by the beheadings and violence we associate with him and who will be looking to exact revenge on those who killed him."

He believes the police will now be looking for such people at the University of Westminster, Emwazi's alma mater.

Emwazi has been the subject of a manhunt for more than a year, after first appearing in an execution video in August last year. 

The notorious jihadi carried out a number of beheadings of Western hostages in Syria and was top of the Government’s ‘kill list’ - joining up to a dozen of UK radicals targeted by drone dtikes.

He was involved in the brutal murders of British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning and was the man behind the executions of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, American aid worker Peter Kassig and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto.

 

The ISIS executioner was hit by a US strike similar to that seen by Russia over the weeks

Emwazi studied computer programming at the University of Westminster

Diane Foley, the mother of US journalist James Foley, said if Emwazi has been killed, it would be “really a small solace to us" as she criticised the American government for failing hostages like her son.

She said: "This huge effort to go after the this deranged man filled with hate when they can’t make half that effort to save the hostages while these young Americans were still alive."

Stuart Henning, the nephew of murdered British taxi driver Alan Henning, tweeted he had “mixed feelings” about the supposed killing of Jihadi John.

He said: "Wanted the coward behind the mask to suffer the way Alan and his friends did but also glad it's been destroyed."

 

The daughter of British aid worker David Haines, who was beheaded by Jihadi John, spoke of her "instant relief" today.

Bethany Haines told ITN News: "After seeing the news that 'Jihadi John' was killed I felt an instant sense of relief, knowing he wouldn't appear in anymore horrific videos," she said.

"He was only a pawn in Isis's stupid game but knowing it's over that he's finally dead still hasn't sunk in.

"As much as I wanted him dead I also wanted answers as to why he did it, why my dad, how did it make a difference?"

Shirley Sotloff, the mother of another of Jihadi John’s victims Steven Sotloff, said: ”If they got him great.”

But Ms Sotloff said his death “doesn’t bring back” her son. 

She added: ”Who knows if he's gone. I don't think there will ever be closure."

  

American journalist James Foley was beheaded by Jihadi john

 

    

Alan Henning was one of the British aid workers killed by Jihadi John

A neighbour of Emwazi's family in West Kilbrun today said he should have faced trial as the ISIS killer would have had vital information that could have led to the downfall of the terror group.

James Beker, 47, said: "I feel sorry he has been killed in this way. They should have put him on trial and interrogated him for information.

"They might have got information that we need for the safety of our country and find out why did he do that.

"They said he was intelligent so how did he turn evil? He turned into not really a beast but a monster.

"It's not right to execute people with no mercy. He should have been captured and spoken to."

 

The Pentagon statement released today

 

British aid worker David Haines was also beheaded by Jihadi John

Emwazi emigrated to London with his family in 1994, aged just six. He attended Qunitin Kynaston Academy and then went on to study computer programming at university, graduating in 2009.

He was reported missing in August 2013 and it was confirmed in December that year that he had travelled to Syria.

Emwazi had been known to MI5 and was detained a number of times in 2009, but he was never charged.

It is thought he was in contact with one of the men involved in the London 7/7 bombings in 2005, two weeks after the attacks.

 

Emwazi’s father previously described his son as a "dog, an animal and a terrorist" and revealed he begged his parents for forgiveness before joining the depraved terror group. 

But instead of forgiving him, Jassem Emwazi, 51, told his son that he hoped he would be killed after he said he was going to Syria “for jihad” in 2013.

Richard Clarke, a former counter-terrorism advisor to the White House, said the strikes will damaged the depraved terror group's image. 

He said: “Since [ISIS] has used propaganda and its 'winner' image to lure new adherents, when its propaganda figure is killed that makes it look more like a loser, more like the tide may be turning against it.”