Thread by @MatthieuSuc

[THREAD] In the second of two articles based on the outcome of interrogations by United States intelligence officials, @Mediapart tells the story of the four notorious British jihadists who were to become known as ‘The #Beatles’.
mediapart.fr/en/journal/fra…

When interrogated by American intelligence Kotey explained the aim of the violence was to maintain control of the hostages and that the blows were often delivered before the proof of life recordings, in order to show the hostages humiliated. #Beatles via @MediapartEN

Alexanda Kotey said that his friend Mohamed Emwazi wanted to be feared and that he used to hit the youngest hostages, and in particular aid worker Peter Kassig because the latter had once been an Army Ranger in the American military. #Beatles

During the summer, an American special forces unit had launched an attack to free the hostages from the grounds of the oil refinery. Several Syrian jihadists were killed but a short time before the attack the remaining hostages had been transferred to a palace in Raqqa itself.

Under interrogation Kotey listed the jihadists who had been present at James Foley's execution. They included Oussama Atar, who was the future mastermind of the Paris terror attacks and Abu Sulayman al-Amriki ('The American'), a member of IS's media office who held the camera.

Elsheikh explained that Foley was beheaded in reprisal for the attempt to free the hostages. Kotey stated that Emwazi had initially been stopped from executing a hostage after the special forces attack, as al-Adnani apparently considered it had been a justified American act.

In February 2016, the bombmaker behind the November 2015 attacks sent a message to his leader, Oussama Atar. He had always been careful to say hello to his “brothers from the brigade”, including El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, the last two '#Beatles' still in Syria.

In 2016 Kotey returned to IS's special forces to support Boubaker el-Hakim, who was the target of numerous secret services around the world. Kotey said that at the time the IS secret service unit (Amniyat) had just executed a spy who had a photo of the Franco-Tunisian emir.

In a report in 2018, the DGSI said Elsheikh and Kotey had both occupied posts which had previously been reserved for its Iraqi founders. According to the agency, this promotion had been granted to the two remaining 'Beatles' in “recognition of their actions and their new status”.

This is the second of two articles on what 'The Beatles' have revealed while in custody in the United States, the first can be found here via @Mediapart. With a special promotion: 1€ each !
mediapart.fr/en/journal/fra…

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