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| Mohammed Emwazi targeted in US airstrike – live updates | Mohammed Emwazi targeted in US airstrike – live updates |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 9.26am GMT09:26 | |
| The Ramadhan Foundation, a UK-based Muslim group committed to dialogue between communities, described the apparent killing of Emwazi as a “signficant moment”. | |
| But its chief executive, Mohammed Shafiq, said extra-judicial killings should not become the norm. In a statement he said: | |
| The killing of Mohammed Emwazi in Syria is a significant moment in the fight to get justice for David Haines, Alan Henning and all the victims of this evil man. | |
| The Ramadhan Foundation joins the victims of Isis and their families in preferring him to have being captured alive so he would have seen justice in a court of law but understand why this wasn’t possible. Extra judicial killing over justice in a court of law should not become the norm in fight against terrorism. | |
| Mohammed Emwazi manifested the evil and barbaric nature of this terrorist entity called Daesh which has killed thousands of Muslims, Christians, Yazidis. There is nothing he said or stood for which would justify his barbaric crimes and actions. | |
| Isis distort Islamic teaching to justify their violent crimes and its this ideology which we have been confronting and will continue to do. Terrorism has no religion and there can never be any justification or excuses for such actions. | |
| Emwazi will now face justice in the court of God for the evil crimes he committed. Today we think of David Haines, Alan Henning, James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and all his victims brutally killed and their families” | |
| 9.07am GMT09:07 | |
| Kareem Shaheen | |
| The anti-Isis activist group ‘Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently’, which has a network of activists in the city claims there was drone strike at 11.41 pm last night near the Islamic court in the city, writes Kareem Shaheen. | |
| But they have been unable to confirm that Enwazi was killed. The group said that Islamic State has set up a massive security cordon around the area of last night’s strike near the Islamic court building in the city, where it is believed Emwazi was targetted. | |
| The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it has confirmed from sources inside the city that a senior British figure in Isis was killed in the airstrikes last night, but has not identified him by name. | |
| Updated at 9.27am GMT | |
| 8.58am GMT08:58 | |
| Ian Black | |
| Confirming a “kill” in a targeted attack by plane or drone on hostile territory is done in the first instance by monitoring communications – mobile phones, radio etc – in the area of operations, writes the Guardian’s Middle East editor Ian Black. | |
| The optimal and foolproof method of confirmation is to take a DNA sample of the victim’s remains and check it against material obtained from relatives. | |
| But the ability to do that depends on access on the ground, which is unlikely in Raqqa, capital of the Islamic State. | |
| If Emwazi is really dead, Isis will likely eventually make its own announcement. It may also deny the US claim. Given the group’s slick propaganda abilities, any statements will be subject to close scrutiny and verification. | |
| Information about the reported killing and Emwazi’s high profile suggest he was under extremely tight surveillance that is likely to have combined sophisticated technical means and human intelligence: that means that whatever can be heard or seen remotely by US or allied intelligence can be supplemented by visual or other observation from an agent in the area. | |
| In 2011, when US special forces killed the al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden in his Pakistani hideout, his corpse was transported to a ship for DNA tests that confirmed his identity before a funeral in the Arabian Sea. In Yemen, another theatre of operations against jihadi militants, Saudi Arabia regularly takes DNA samples of wanted men it has targeted. In several drone strikes against leaders of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, tests did not confirm that they were the correct target. | |
| Earlier this year the FBI confirmed the death of a wanted Jemaah Islamiya terorrist, Zulkifli bin Hir, after conducting DNA tests on a severed finger found at the scene of the commando raid that killed him in the Philippines. Three years earlier he had been reported killed in an air strike. | |
| 8.53am GMT08:53 | 8.53am GMT08:53 |
| The Joint committee on Human Rights, chaired by the former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman, has launched an inquiry into the legal basis of the targeted drone strikes by UK military. | The Joint committee on Human Rights, chaired by the former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman, has launched an inquiry into the legal basis of the targeted drone strikes by UK military. |
| Harman has written [pdf] to the Attorney General Jeremy Wright, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and and Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon asking for the legal basis of the strikes. | Harman has written [pdf] to the Attorney General Jeremy Wright, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and and Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon asking for the legal basis of the strikes. |
| The Committee has requested from the ministers a clear statement by next week of the Government’s policy on the use of drones for targeted killing; a comprehensive description of the legal framework, the existing guidance, the decision making process which precedes ministerial authorisation, and a summary of the existing accountability mechanisms. | The Committee has requested from the ministers a clear statement by next week of the Government’s policy on the use of drones for targeted killing; a comprehensive description of the legal framework, the existing guidance, the decision making process which precedes ministerial authorisation, and a summary of the existing accountability mechanisms. |
| 8.49am GMT08:49 | 8.49am GMT08:49 |
| Josh Halliday | Josh Halliday |
| Charlie Winter, senior researcher at the anti-extremist thinktank the Quilliam Foundation said the airstrikes demonstrates the strength of US intelligence against Isis, writes Josh Halliday. | Charlie Winter, senior researcher at the anti-extremist thinktank the Quilliam Foundation said the airstrikes demonstrates the strength of US intelligence against Isis, writes Josh Halliday. |
| Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Winter said: | Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Winter said: |
| “The fact he has been potentially killed is going to have reverberations and it will identify a very powerful asset that the coalition has - good, sound intelligence that means they can carry out surgical strikes on individual targets in Raqqa. That will perhaps count into the calculations of foreign fighters who are thinking of going to Syria, people who are thinking of joining the group because they want to have an adventure.” | “The fact he has been potentially killed is going to have reverberations and it will identify a very powerful asset that the coalition has - good, sound intelligence that means they can carry out surgical strikes on individual targets in Raqqa. That will perhaps count into the calculations of foreign fighters who are thinking of going to Syria, people who are thinking of joining the group because they want to have an adventure.” |
| “Even if he hasn’t been killed, the very fact that there was an airstrike that was targeting him and the Americans are confident in the fact they did target a convoy with Jihadi John in it - that does demonstrate they have operational intelligence of what’s happening on the ground in Syria.” | “Even if he hasn’t been killed, the very fact that there was an airstrike that was targeting him and the Americans are confident in the fact they did target a convoy with Jihadi John in it - that does demonstrate they have operational intelligence of what’s happening on the ground in Syria.” |
| Winter also pointed out that Emwazi hasn’t been seen in public since 31 January when he appeared in a video apparently killing the Japanese man Kenji Goto. | Winter also pointed out that Emwazi hasn’t been seen in public since 31 January when he appeared in a video apparently killing the Japanese man Kenji Goto. |
| 8.42am GMT08:42 | 8.42am GMT08:42 |
| David Cameron’s office has confirmed that he will make a statement later on Friday, but hasn’t said when. It said: | David Cameron’s office has confirmed that he will make a statement later on Friday, but hasn’t said when. It said: |
| “The Prime Minister will make a statement later today. We have been working hand in glove with the Americans to defeat Isil and to hunt down those murdering hostages. The Prime Minister has said before that tracking down these brutal murderers was a top priority.” | “The Prime Minister will make a statement later today. We have been working hand in glove with the Americans to defeat Isil and to hunt down those murdering hostages. The Prime Minister has said before that tracking down these brutal murderers was a top priority.” |
| 8.40am GMT08:40 | 8.40am GMT08:40 |
| Brett McGurk, Barack Obama’s deputy special envoy on countering Isis, described the attack on Emwazi as as a “precision airstrike”. | Brett McGurk, Barack Obama’s deputy special envoy on countering Isis, described the attack on Emwazi as as a “precision airstrike”. |
| US military forces targeted #ISIL terrorist Mohamed Emwazi ("Jihadi John") in a precision airstrike last night in #Raqqa. More to follow... | US military forces targeted #ISIL terrorist Mohamed Emwazi ("Jihadi John") in a precision airstrike last night in #Raqqa. More to follow... |
| The Pentagon’s mentioned an attack near Raqqah in its almost daily summary of continued airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. It said: | The Pentagon’s mentioned an attack near Raqqah in its almost daily summary of continued airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. It said: |
| On Nov. 12, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes using fighter, attack, and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 18 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. | On Nov. 12, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes using fighter, attack, and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 18 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. |
| The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release: | The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release: |
| Syria | Syria |
| Iraq | Iraq |
| Strike assessments are based on initial reports. All aircraft returned to base safely. | Strike assessments are based on initial reports. All aircraft returned to base safely. |
| 8.24am GMT08:24 | 8.24am GMT08:24 |
| The prime minister’s offices acknowledges that Cameron would not be planning to make a statement in Downing Street unless British military sources were close to certain that he had been killed, Patrick Wintour adds. | The prime minister’s offices acknowledges that Cameron would not be planning to make a statement in Downing Street unless British military sources were close to certain that he had been killed, Patrick Wintour adds. |
| But Cameron may wait until the afternoon to make a statement to ensure intelligence and military sources have gathered the maximum amount of information. | But Cameron may wait until the afternoon to make a statement to ensure intelligence and military sources have gathered the maximum amount of information. |
| The legal right of British military to conduct drone strikes in Syria is questioned, although in this case it was a US strike in which Britain intelligence had been involved. | The legal right of British military to conduct drone strikes in Syria is questioned, although in this case it was a US strike in which Britain intelligence had been involved. |
| Government sources also acknowledged that his demise was being discussed on social media within Syria. | Government sources also acknowledged that his demise was being discussed on social media within Syria. |
| 8.21am GMT08:21 | 8.21am GMT08:21 |
| Downing street: 'high degree of certainty' Enwazi was killed | Downing street: 'high degree of certainty' Enwazi was killed |
| Patrick Wintour | Patrick Wintour |
| David Cameron will make a statement from Downing Street on Mohammed Emwazi following reports this morning from America that the US military are 99% certain that he has been killed in a drone strike, writes Patrick Wintour. | David Cameron will make a statement from Downing Street on Mohammed Emwazi following reports this morning from America that the US military are 99% certain that he has been killed in a drone strike, writes Patrick Wintour. |
| Number 10 and Ministry of Defence sources were marginally less certain in their response to the reports of his death that US sources, but the plan is for Cameron to make a statement later today. | Number 10 and Ministry of Defence sources were marginally less certain in their response to the reports of his death that US sources, but the plan is for Cameron to make a statement later today. |
| Number 10 sources said there was a high degree of certainty that he has been killed, and added UK military had been working hand in glove with America on the operation. | Number 10 sources said there was a high degree of certainty that he has been killed, and added UK military had been working hand in glove with America on the operation. |
| Peter Cook, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement that the military was “assessing the results” of the strike to determine if Emwazi had been killed. | Peter Cook, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement that the military was “assessing the results” of the strike to determine if Emwazi had been killed. |
| Enwazi is regarded as the most dangerous British member of Isis. | Enwazi is regarded as the most dangerous British member of Isis. |
| He became notorious in videos in late 2014 and early 2015 killing several American and other Western hostages. | He became notorious in videos in late 2014 and early 2015 killing several American and other Western hostages. |
| Emwazi, born in Kuwait and came to Britain in London, has appeared as a black-masked figure in videos in which the American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and the American aid worker Peter Kassig were beheaded. Jihadi John to travelled to Syria in 2012 and first showed up in Islamic State videos in August 2014. | Emwazi, born in Kuwait and came to Britain in London, has appeared as a black-masked figure in videos in which the American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and the American aid worker Peter Kassig were beheaded. Jihadi John to travelled to Syria in 2012 and first showed up in Islamic State videos in August 2014. |
| The drone was undertaken with hellfire missiles and the attack took place in Raqqa the headquarters of Isis in eastern Syria. | The drone was undertaken with hellfire missiles and the attack took place in Raqqa the headquarters of Isis in eastern Syria. |
| Government sources said his possible death is different from the killing of Reyaad Khan, a 21-year-old from Cardiff who was assassinated in a long-planned RAF drone strike and last night’s strike may have been a strike of opportunity by the US, as part of the coalition’s general fight against Isis. | Government sources said his possible death is different from the killing of Reyaad Khan, a 21-year-old from Cardiff who was assassinated in a long-planned RAF drone strike and last night’s strike may have been a strike of opportunity by the US, as part of the coalition’s general fight against Isis. |
| Two other Isis fighters were killed alongside Khan, in the attack on the Syrian city of Raqqa on 21 August. One of them, Ruhul Amin, 26, was also British. | Two other Isis fighters were killed alongside Khan, in the attack on the Syrian city of Raqqa on 21 August. One of them, Ruhul Amin, 26, was also British. |
| Cameron justified that killing in the sovereign territory of another country on the basis that Khan represented a specific threat to UK security, and that he had exercised the country’s “inherent right to self-protection”. | Cameron justified that killing in the sovereign territory of another country on the basis that Khan represented a specific threat to UK security, and that he had exercised the country’s “inherent right to self-protection”. |
| He said the strike was not part of the coalition’s general fight against Isis in Syria. | He said the strike was not part of the coalition’s general fight against Isis in Syria. |
| “It was necessary and proportionate for the individual self-defence of the UK,” Cameron told MPs. | “It was necessary and proportionate for the individual self-defence of the UK,” Cameron told MPs. |
| Updated at 8.25am GMT | Updated at 8.25am GMT |
| 7.56am GMT07:56 | 7.56am GMT07:56 |
| Justin McCurry | Justin McCurry |
| Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said on Friday afternoon that Tokyo was liaising with Washington over the outcome of today’s air strikes. | Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said on Friday afternoon that Tokyo was liaising with Washington over the outcome of today’s air strikes. |
| Suga said the Japanese government was “aware of the Pentagon’s press statement on this matter, and we understand that the Pentagon is assessing the results of the operation. The government of Japan is in contact with the US government about the details”. | Suga said the Japanese government was “aware of the Pentagon’s press statement on this matter, and we understand that the Pentagon is assessing the results of the operation. The government of Japan is in contact with the US government about the details”. |
| Emwazi is believed to have beheaded two Japanese hostages, journalist Kenji Goto and security consultant Haruna Yukawa, earlier this year. | Emwazi is believed to have beheaded two Japanese hostages, journalist Kenji Goto and security consultant Haruna Yukawa, earlier this year. |
| In late January Islamic State released a video, called A Message to the Government of Japan, showing a militant who looks and sounds like Emwazi. The man, armed with a knife and dressed in black with his face covered, stands behind Goto before beheading him. | In late January Islamic State released a video, called A Message to the Government of Japan, showing a militant who looks and sounds like Emwazi. The man, armed with a knife and dressed in black with his face covered, stands behind Goto before beheading him. |
| Isis had targeted Japanese citizens after the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, publicly pledged 200 million US dollars in non-military aid to countries engaged in the fight against the group. | Isis had targeted Japanese citizens after the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, publicly pledged 200 million US dollars in non-military aid to countries engaged in the fight against the group. |
| 7.42am GMT07:42 | 7.42am GMT07:42 |
| Jihadi John targeted in US airstrikes | Jihadi John targeted in US airstrikes |
| Mohammed Emwazi, the Islamic State executioner known as Jihadi John, has been targeted by US airstrikes in the Syrian city of Raqqa on Thursday. | Mohammed Emwazi, the Islamic State executioner known as Jihadi John, has been targeted by US airstrikes in the Syrian city of Raqqa on Thursday. |
| The Pentagon said that a drone had targeted a vehicle believed to be carrying Emwazi in Raqqa, the de facto capital of Isis in northern Syria. | The Pentagon said that a drone had targeted a vehicle believed to be carrying Emwazi in Raqqa, the de facto capital of Isis in northern Syria. |
| There are reports claiming US sources are “99% sure” the extremist was killed in the strike, but these have not yet been independently verified by the Guardian. Activist groups in Raqqa reported airstrikes and an explosion through the night of 12 November. | There are reports claiming US sources are “99% sure” the extremist was killed in the strike, but these have not yet been independently verified by the Guardian. Activist groups in Raqqa reported airstrikes and an explosion through the night of 12 November. |
| A statement by Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook says: | A statement by Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook says: |
| U.S. forces conducted an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, on Nov. 12, 2015 targeting Mohamed Emwazi, also known as “Jihadi John.” | U.S. forces conducted an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, on Nov. 12, 2015 targeting Mohamed Emwazi, also known as “Jihadi John.” |
| Emwazi, a British citizen, participated in the videos showing the murders of U.S. journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, U.S. aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, and a number of other hostages. | Emwazi, a British citizen, participated in the videos showing the murders of U.S. journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, U.S. aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, and a number of other hostages. |
| We are assessing the results of tonight’s operation and will provide additional information as and where appropriate. | We are assessing the results of tonight’s operation and will provide additional information as and where appropriate. |
| Related: 'Jihadi John': US air strike targets Isis terrorist Mohammed Emwazi | Related: 'Jihadi John': US air strike targets Isis terrorist Mohammed Emwazi |
| Updated at 7.54am GMT | Updated at 7.54am GMT |