Hunt Begins for 'British' Islamic State Executioner of US Journalist James Foley

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Intelligence agencies try to identify masked jihadi killer of James Foley who spoke with accent believed to be from London or southern England


Intelligence agencies are trying to identify the executioner of American journalist James Foley after he spoke with what appeared to be an English accent.

The Islamic State jihadi, clad all in black with his face covered, addressed the camera during a five-minute video and delivered an anti-American rant in what appeared to be an accent from London or southern England.

It will raise fears about the role of extremists from the UK in Islamic State, which now controls large swathes of Syria and Iraq.

One tweet from an account dedicated to the "upcoming conquest of the Americas" described the man as a "foreign muhaji, British, who climbed the ranks and shook America to its knees." However, it was unclear if the author knew his identity or was simply responding to media reports.

In the video the masked man points a knife at the camera with his left hand and says: "This is James Wright Foley, an American citizen, of your country. As a government, you have been at the forefront of the aggression towards the Islamic State.

"Today, your military air force is attacking us daily in Iraq...any attempt by you, Obama, to deny the Muslims their rights of living in safety under the Islamic Caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people." » | Nick Allen and Philip Sherwell | Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Cardiff Mosque Where Isis Recruits Worshipped Says Don't Blame Us

THE GUARDIAN: Al-Manar centre denies that visiting preachers may have prompted two men to leave for Syria and join the terror group

The mosque in Cardiff that two young men attended before they left for Syria and appeared in an extremist recruitment video has denied having anything to do with their radicalisation – and instead claimed they could have been inspired by images in the mainstream media.

Reacting in detail for the first time, the Al-Manar centre in the Welsh capital denied that visiting preachers may have prompted the men to leave for Syria and join the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) terror group.

In a statement released to the Guardian and ITN, the Al-Manar centre said it did not control those who attended for prayers and officials would have sought to dissuade the men from leaving for Syria if they had known they were going.

The centre's denial came as more than 100 Islamic prayer leaders from various denominations of Islam signed a letter calling on British Muslims not to travel to Iraq or Syria to fight. » | Steven Morris | Friday, July 04, 2014

Third Jihadist in Isis Video Is from Aberdeen

Raqib is identified in the video as Brother Abu Bara' al Hindi

BBC: A third British man in a recruitment video for the Islamic militant group, Isis, is from Aberdeen, the BBC has learned.

The man has been named locally as Raqib.

The 13-minute video, There Is No Life Without Jihad, emerged on Friday, posted by accounts linked to Isis.

Two of the six fighters shown in the film urging Muslims to join a holy war, have been identified as Nasser Muthana and Reyaad Khan from Cardiff.

The footage emerged after militants led by Isis made rapid advances through Iraq in recent weeks.

The video shows them urging other British Muslims to join their war. » | Monday, June 23, 2014