BREAKING @ABC — Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are in the air at this hour on their way to Washington to be charged as ISIS guards of 4 murdered US hostages, US official tells me. The “Beatles” are expected to appear in federal court in Alexandria, Va. this afternoon.
https://twitter.com/meekwire/status/1313580245518295040
It cannot be overstated what an emotional moment this is for families of ISIS hostages murdered in captivity that these two Londoners are finally coming to the US District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia. They will have the last word. They also still want information.
I came off a mountain hike in Colorado Aug 19, 2014 and saw ghastly ISIS video slaughter of Jim Foley. I’d known that a full squadron of 1SFOD-D (Delta Force) tried to rescue the hostages July 4 near Raqqa but found a “dry hole” so I held off reporting it.
abcnews.go.com/Blotter/james-…
abcnews.go.com/Blotter/james-…
FBI op to fly “Beatles” out of Iraq — where US moved them after Turkey went into Syria to strike US ally YPG — was complex, requiring last-minute host nation notification for opsec, officials told me Monday. We reported charges but agreed not to disclose movement until airborne.
I’ve given 2 examples of holding back reporting. Why? After CAG hit the Raqqa oil refinery prison on 7/4/14 (they were recently decorated for it @wesleysmorgan reports), I knew they were attempting to find where the hostages had been moved — I wasn’t going to spoil their chances.
And this week, sources I trust expressed serious concern for the safety of the FBI-led team going into Iraq to exfill Kotey and Elsheikh and fly them to a court outside Washington. Iraq is still a dangerous place. Such requests to hold back details of my reporting are very rare.
The families of James Foley, Kayla Mueller, Abdul-Rachman Kassig and Steven Sotloff release statement via @JamesFoleyFund
jamesfoleyfoundation.org/families-welco…
jamesfoleyfoundation.org/families-welco…
I see tweets questioning timing of this news but a UK court recently cleared way for sharing of evidence by London to DC on the defendants. I reported in 2004 on AG John Ashcroft doing terror announcements during that campaign — but this is actually the hard work of FBI & DOJ CT.
Worth noting that @TheJusticeDept has a perfect record of convictions prosecuting Islamist extremists in US district courts, unlike disaster of military commissions at Guantanamo dragging on since 2008. Defendants from al Qaeda, Taliban & ISIS wind up in Supermax in Florence, CO.
The “Beatles“ arrive in Washington today — Mope-tops 
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