A British jihadi who faked his own death on social media in order to sneak out of Syria is to be approached by intelligence officers to see whether he can lead them to ‘Jihadi John’. He will be approached in Belmarsh Prison to see whether he is willing to give up information.
Yesterday Breitbart London reported on Imran Khawaja pleading guilty to terrorism offences at the Old Bailey. He had travelled back to the UK after six months in Syria with ISIS in order to raise more funds for the terrorist organisation.
Also in the dock were his cousin, Tahir Bhatti, who helped Khawaja return to England, and Asim Ali, who gave money to Khawaja. The Metropolitan Police’s head of counter-terrorism, Commander Richard Walton, said: “Imran Khawaja was not a vulnerable teenager that has travelled out to Syria and been coerced to travel to Syria.
“This is a man who has chosen the path of terrorism. We don’t know why he came back. We don’t know what he was planning. But this is a dangerous man, a trained terrorist.”
The Daily Mail today reported that Khawaja will be questioned at Belmarsh Prison, as he is suspected of having close ties to Jihadi John, the ISIS executioner who last summer took the lives of a number of American and British hostages, including James Foley and Alan Henning.
It is thought that security services have already identified Jihadi John, who is known to hail from London, but seek more information on his background. In particular they are keen to understand more about his position within the heirarchy of Islamic State.
Jihadi John and Khawaja are known to have moved in the same circles within Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State carved out of Syria and Iraq. In a number of pictures posted online, Khawaja is seen posing in the same black hooded outfit worn by Jihadi John as he threatened and killed his hostages.