US Takes Custody Over British 'Beatles' Jihadists

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh were part of the British Islamic State cell known as 'The Beatles'.

Two suspected Islamic State (IS) terrorists originally from Britain, dubbed 'The Beatles' because of their accents, have been taken from Syria into American custody.

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, dubbed "the worst of the worst" by US President Donald Trump, were moved to an "undisclosed location" from a prison run by the Kurdish-led militia in northern Syria.

There were fears that some of the thousands of IS fighters could escape the prisons in Syria, with Turkey launching an offensive into the northeastern region and US troops evacuating the immediate area.

The British pair were part of a cell responsible for the torture and execution of nearly 30 Western hostages.

Seven American, British and Japanese journalists, and aid workers were beheaded alongside a group of Syrian soldiers between 2014 and 2015 by the cell, who released propaganda videos to the world.

Another member of the cell, Mohammed Emwazi, or "Jihadi John", was killed in a drone strike before the others were captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in January 2018.

Announcing the operation, Mr Trump said: "We are taking some of the most dangerous ISIS fighters out.

"We've taken them out, and we're putting them in different locations where it's secure."

US officials confirmed this included Elsheikh and Kotey, both from London.

The pair have been stripped of their British citizenship but former MI6 chief, Sir John Sawers, said the pair should be brought back to the UK to face justice.

Former Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said last year the pair had "turned their back on British ideas, British values".

In a subsequent post on Twitter on Thursday, Mr Trump added: "In case the Kurds or Turkey lose control, the United States has already taken the two ISIS militants tied to beheadings in Syria, known as the Beatles, out of that country and into a secure location controlled by the U.S.

"They are the worst of the worst!"

Sir John Sawers told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have left those ISIS detainees in the hands of the Kurds."

"I think it's a very challenging problem. What do you do with up to 10,000 fighters, has been mentioned, and some of them are from Britain? I think there does have to be some concerted effort here.

"I think, ultimately, they ought really to be brought back to their home countries to face justice here."