‘Jihadi John’ Raised In UK, Studied Computers, Reports Say

The world knows him as “Jihadi John,” the masked, knife-wielding terrorist in videos showing Western hostages being killed by the Islamic State group. A growing body of evidence suggests he is a London-raised university graduate, described by one man who knew him as kind, gentle and humble.

The Washington Post and the BBC on Thursday identified the British-accented terrorist from the chilling videos as Mohammed Emwazi, a man in his mid-20s who was born in Kuwait and raised in a modest, mixed-income area of west London.

No one answered the door at the brick row house where the Emwazi family is alleged to have lived. Neighbors in the surrounding area of public housing projects either declined comment or said they didn’t know the family.

Asked whether it was helpful or hurtful to have the jihadi publicly identified, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that investigators over the last several months “have found it to their advantage to not talk publicly about the details or progress of that investigation.” He didn’t confirm the identity of the suspect.

The Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence at King’s College London, which closely tracks fighters in Syria, said it believed the identification was correct.

This article appeared in print on page 2 of the February 27th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.