The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that British intelligence agencies MI5 and MI6 suspect 23-year-old Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary as the perpetrator of the beheading of the late journalist James Foley.
The formerly-aspiring rapper, now turned suspected-terrorist is reported to have left his home in west London to join the conflict in Syria supposedly to join the jihad.. According to the Herald, Abdel Bary, also known as “Jihadi John” and “L Jinny”, tweeted a photo of himself in military garb and holding a severed head.
Abdel Bary’s father is awaiting trial on terrorism charges for allegedly being involved with the bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
According to the the Daily Beast, British intelligence is seeking “Jihadi John” along with two other suspects. The rapper’s music is suspected of being critical in the identification of the suspected.
Despite the UK intelligence efforts to locate Abdel Bary, U.S. intelligence has not yet independently corroborated the identification.
Abdel Barry is not alone though in his radicalization, according to New York Magazine, “500 Britons are believed to be fighting in Syria under the flag of ISIS, as well as several hundred individuals from the U.S. and Canada.”
Joshua is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. You can follow him on Twitter @Joshual33.
