Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

UK police detail 'remarkable' probe into IS 'Beatles' cell

The “Beatles” cell is accused of abducting at least 27 journalists and relief workers from the United States, Britain, Europe, New Zealand, Russia and Japan.

UK police detail 'remarkable' probe into IS 'Beatles' cell

UK police lifted the lid Wednesday on a years-long probe into the notorious Islamic State (IS) kidnap-and-murder cell dubbed the "Beatles" by their captives.

Counter-terrorism officers said the hostages' recollections helped "zero in" on three of the British captors.


The IS cell members, who tried to keep their identities hidden, held dozens of foreign hostages in Syria between 2012 and 2015 and were known to their captives as the "Beatles" because of their distinctive British accents.

Two of them -- 38-year-old Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, 34 -- have been brought to justice in the United States for their part in the gruesome beheadings and killings of several Americans.

Another, Mohamed Emwazi -- dubbed "Jihadi John" -- died in Syria in 2015.

A fourth alleged British member was remanded in UK custody last week on terrorism charges after Turkey deported him following a jail term there.

Ahead of Elsheikh's sentencing on Friday, British police have now detailed how their nearly decade-long probe unearthed key evidence used by US prosecutors to convict him in April.

"The building of the case is described as like putting together very small pieces of a jigsaw," Richard Smith, the head of London police's counter-terrorism unit, told reporters at a briefing Wednesday.

"What we pieced together here is a trail of breadcrumbs, fragments of breadcrumbs really, amongst a huge amount of other inquiries, which we were then able to present... to a court to assist the prosecution in the US."

London's Metropolitan Police first began probing what would become known as the "Beatles" cell in November 2012, when a spate of kidnappings of Western journalists and aid workers began in northern Syria.

Following some hostages' release, as well as videos of other captives being beheaded by an executioner with a British accent, officers discovered some of the suspected perpetrators were UK citizens.

From the accounts of freed hostages, alongside other information and intelligence, they first identified the executioner as Emwazi.

Born in Kuwait but raised in the UK since aged six, he was killed by a US drone strike in Syria in 2015.

As British police worked to identify others, Smith said a "snippet of conversation" between captors and captives provided the key breakthrough.

Kotey and Elsheikh had revealed they were once arrested in central London at a far-right English Defence League (EDL) protest, which featured a counter-demonstration by an Islamic group.

Officers were able to trawl back through records of arrests at such events and discovered a September 2011 incident in which the pair were held over a stabbing.

Police then unearthed video footage of the duo from the day, data from their seized mobile phones that showed links to Emwazi, and other evidence leads.

Graphic phone images

"(That) one piece of information emerged from the hostages we spoke to, which was fairly unremarkable on the face of it to the hostage but proved very significant to us," said Smith.

Officers also used a 2014 firearms conviction of Elsheikh's brother to find further evidence from his mobile phone seized in that case.

It included images of Elsheikh in Syria in combat gear with a gun, and graphic pictures of severed heads which the 34-year-old had labelled "Syrian casualties".

Meanwhile, officers discovered a 2009 police interview with him over an unrelated case that featured his voice, which experts were able to conclude was the same as a captor's heard in IS hostage videos.

The "Beatles" cell is accused of abducting at least 27 journalists and relief workers from the United States, Britain, Europe, New Zealand, Russia and Japan.

Kotey and Elsheikh were captured in January 2018 by a Kurdish militia in Syria and turned over to US forces in Iraq before being sent to the US with UK permission.

There they faced charges of hostage-taking, conspiracy to murder US citizens and supporting a foreign terrorist organisation.

Kotey pleaded guilty to his role in the deaths last September and was sentenced to life in prison in April.

More For You

John Major

Major said that American isolationism under President Donald Trump is creating a power vacuum that benefits Russia and China. (Photo: Getty Images)

John Major warns US isolation strengthens Russia and China

FORMER prime minister Sir John Major has warned that democracy is under threat as the United States retreats from its global leadership role.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend, Major said that American isolationism under President Donald Trump is creating a power vacuum that benefits Russia and China.

Keep ReadingShow less
Birmingham-stabbing

A 16-year-old boy was stabbed on Saturday afternoon in Bordesley Green. (Photo: X/@MarioNawfal)

Stabbings on the rise as Birmingham residents protest attack on teen

A RISE in stabbing incidents across the country has raised concerns, with another attack in Birmingham prompting a protest by local residents.

A 16-year-old boy was stabbed on Saturday afternoon in Bordesley Green. West Midlands Police said he was attacked at about 15:30 GMT and was taken to hospital with serious injuries. He is now in stable condition.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian court sentences man to life for rape, murder of Irish woman
McLaughlin, 28, from County Donegal, was found dead in a field in Goa in March 2017. (Photo credit: Twitter)

Indian court sentences man to life for rape, murder of Irish woman

A COURT in India’s Goa state has sentenced a 31-year-old man to life in prison for the rape and murder of an Irish woman in 2017. The verdict was delivered on Monday, nearly eight years after the crime.

The body of 28-year-old Danielle McLaughlin was found in March 2017 on a beach popular with tourists. An autopsy confirmed that cerebral damage and constriction of the neck caused her death.

Keep ReadingShow less
Michael O’Sullivan

Over his career, Michael O’Sullivan rode 95 winners in Ireland and Britain, including 14 in Ireland and two in Britain this season. (Photo: X/@irishracing)

Irish jockey Michael O’Sullivan dies after fall at Thurles

IRISH jockey Michael O’Sullivan has died after sustaining injuries in a fall at Thurles, Ireland, on 6 February. The 24-year-old had been in an induced coma in intensive care at Cork University Hospital since the incident.

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board’s (IHRB) chief medical officer, Dr Jennifer Pugh, confirmed his passing early Sunday morning, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rizwana Bokhari

Rizwana Bokhari passed away on 10 February 2025, at the age of 73.

Hundreds attend funeral of Rizwana Bokhari in London

OVER 700 people attended the funeral of Rizwana Bokhari at Balham Mosque, the oldest mosque in South London, on Friday, 14 February.

Mourners included faith leaders from across the UK, international guests from America and Asia, and political figures.

Keep ReadingShow less