Defense

US airstrikes in Syria target ISIS’s ‘Jihadi John’

by Kristina Wong - 11/12/15 10:42 PM ET

U.S. forces targeted the terrorist known as “Jihadi John” in airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, the Pentagon announced.

Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement that U.S. forces had targeted Mohamed Emwazi, known as “Jihadi John,” in an airstrike.

{mosads}Emwazi was featured in videos with U.S. hostages, issuing messages in English and appearing to slit their throats before the cameras cut away.

“We are assessing the results of tonight’s operation and will provide additional information as and where appropriate,” Cook said.

Emwazi — a British citizen — appeared in 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,” Cook’s statement said.

Former ISIS hostages described Emwazi as one of the English-speaking captors who participated in waterboarding and beating of hostages, according to The Washington Post.

An official told the Post that Thursday’s strike may have also targeted another one of the English-speaking captors, who former ISIS hostages nicknamed “the Beatles.”

The group of captors are also believed to be responsible for the death of American aid worker Kayla Mueller.

Tags ISIL beheading incidents Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Jihadi John Killing of captives by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant