US military chief says UK should take back Isis suspects suspected of carrying out beheadings

Britons should be ‘repatriated to where they came from,’ says American commander of special ops

Adam Forrest
Monday 22 October 2018 08:24 BST
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Alexanda Kotey, left, and El Shafee Elsheikh
Alexanda Kotey, left, and El Shafee Elsheikh

A senior US military commander has called on the UK to take back two alleged members of Isis suspected of involvement in a series of beheadings.

El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, originally from London, are considered “Specially Designated Global Terrorists” by the US State Department.

The pair are believed to be members of a four-man cell of Isis executioners in Syria and Iraq dubbed “The Beatles” because of their British accents. They are currently being held in solitary confinement by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Major General Patrick Roberson, commander of US special ops, called on the British authorities to take them into custody.

When asked whether Elsheik and Kotey should be repatriated to the UK, Maj Gen Roberson told the BBC: “We would certainly like them to be.”

He said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the US were “working very hard to make sure that the countries of origin get these foreign terrorist fighters back into their custody”.

Maj Gen Roberson said it was a decision for each country involved, but added: “I think the SDF and us would certainly like them to be repatriated to where they came from.”

Kotey and Elsheikh are accused of belonging to the cell which also included Mohammed Emwazi, killed in a US air strike in 2015, and Aine Davis, who has been jailed in Turkey.

The group is suspected of involvement in the beheading of 27 people, including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning and US citizens James Foley, Steven Sotloff and Peter Kassig.

Emwazi – better known as “Jihadi John” – was filmed carrying out a number of the murders and the videos were broadcast online.

Kotey and Elsheikh, both raised in west London, are believed to have been detained by Kurdish forces in northern Syria in January and have been stripped of their British citizenship.

They may face a federal trial in the US after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided there was “insufficient evidence” for them to be tried in the UK.

MPs criticised Home Secretary Sajid Javid earlier this month for his decision to hand evidence on Kotey and Elsheikh to the American authorities, without the usual assurances they would not be executed if convicted in the US.

Elsheikh’s mother Maha Elgizouli has mounted a High Court challenge over the UK’s sharing of evidence with US authorities under a “mutual legal assistance” (MLA) agreement.

She says it was “unlawful” for the government to do so without obtaining any assurance the pair will not face execution.

Lawyers for the home secretary, who is contesting Ms Elgizouli’s case, said it was not yet known whether the pair will be charged in the US, but that there is the “most powerful interest” in a proper investigation of their alleged crimes.

The case is being heard by the Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett and Mr Justice Garnham, who are expected to deliver their ruling at a later date.

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