Marquette grad’s parents say militant’s death little solace

A USA drone strike in Syria late Thursday targeted the infamous masked Islamic State executioner named “Jihadi John”, the Pentagon said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules that bar civil servants from speaking to journalists without prior authorization. Nonetheless, he noted that this move should also serve as a caution to the other Islamic State militants. “We have killed on average one mid-to-upper level Isil [Isis] leader every two days since May”.

A US military drone fired a Hellfire missile at a auto carrying Jihadi John and another person, Warren said.

However, finding and cultivating informants on the ground – so-called human intelligence – would have been critical to the kind of operation which led to the strike on Jihadi John, the former US official said.

“We are all aware of the ghastly videos, the absolute barbarism that he displayed”.

“We can not yet be certain if the strike was successful”.

Prime Minister David Cameron stated that Britain and the USA have been working together around the clock to track down Mohammed Emwazi.

“Islamic State will survive ‘Jihadi John, ‘” said Jonathan Russell, political liaison officer at the Quilliam Foundation, which aims to debunk the belief systems of Islamic extremism.

Arrests – like one this week in Turkey of another British member of what tabloids have called the “Beatles” cell, according to USA officials – are one part of the effort to corral ISIS.

Emwazi is believed to have travelled to Syria in 2013 and later joined IS militants. The CIA and Defence Intelligence Agency have stepped up efforts to recruit human sources. Born in Kuwait and raised in London, he left the British capital and became a star salesman for a Kuwaiti IT company, the Guardiannewspaper reported earlier this year. That notoriety apparently vaulted him onto the Pentagon’s list of priority targets: When Department of Defense spokesman Peter Cook briefed the press on Friday, he referred to Emwazi as a “high-value individual” and the sole intended target of the strike.

Foley’s parents, John and Diane Foley, said Friday that learning of the strike was “a very small solace”.

“I have heard the news but it doesn’t bring me any comfort because nothing will bring back my husband”, said Dragana Prodanovic Haines, the Croatian wife of aid worker David Haines who was kidnapped by IS and killed previous year. In most, he acts as a narrator, taunting the West and promising an Islamic State victory, though the videos don’t make clear if he carried out all of the actual killings.

As the masked face of ISIS, the British citizen appeared in a series of brutal videos, dressed head-to-toe in black – his eyes and voice his lone revealing features – and holding a knife. Experts and others later confirmed the identification. He went to British schools and graduated from the University of Westminster with a degree in computer science.

In Japan, the mother of Kenji Goto, a Japanese journalist believed to have been killed by Emwazi, echoed her son’s peace-loving attitude in comments to public broadcaster NHK. He was also detained by British counterterrorism officials in 2010.