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US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have captured two notorious British members of an Islamic State (IS) insurgent cell commonly dubbed "The Beatles" and known for beheading hostages, an American military official has said.
- The men were part of the IS cell dubbed "The Beatles" because of their British accents
- Their IS cell captured, tortured and beheaded more than two dozen hostages
- SDF have captured or killed hundreds of foreign-born IS terrorists since October
El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Amon Kotey were captured in eastern Syria early last month, the official said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the two men were among four members of the IS cell that captured, tortured and beheaded more than two dozen hostages including American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid worker Peter Kassig.
The US State Department has already imposed sanctions on both men. They were dubbed "The Beatles" because of their English accents.
They are believed to be linked to the British terrorist known as Jihadi John, the masked IS militant who appeared in several videos depicting the graphic beheadings of Western hostages.
Their capture was first reported by the New York Times.
According to the US, Elsheikh travelled to Syria in 2012 and first joined Al Qaeda's branch there before later joining IS.
The State Department, in imposing sanctions on Kotey last year, said he likely engaged in executions and torture, including electronic shock and waterboarding, and recruited several British nationals to IS.
According to military officials, the two men represent just a small portion of the hundreds of foreign-born IS terrorists from a number of nations that SDF fighters have captured or killed since October.
US officials did not provide any other details of the capture, but said the US government had discussions with its coalition partners on the disposition of detainees held by the SDF.
They said those discussions are private and no additional information would be given.
Sotloff was kidnapped in August 2013 after crossing into Syria from Turkey.
He was killed 13 months later and a video was distributed around the world documenting his death.
Foley, another American journalist, had been killed a month earlier by the IS.
Kassig was an American aid worker captured by IS militants in 2013 while delivering relief supplies to refugees in Syria.
AP/Reuters
Topics: world-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, religion-and-beliefs, syrian-arab-republic, united-kingdom, united-states, turkey
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