'Jihadi John' believed to be young, well-to-do Londoner

Friends and family believe they have identified "Jihadi John," the man with a British accent who has beheaded ISIS hostages in several videos.

A number of sources told The Washington Post they believe the terrorist is Mohammed Emwazi, whom the Post describes as "a Briton from a well-to-do family who grew up in West London and graduated from college with a degree in computer programming." Emwazi's friends believe he traveled to Syria in 2012 and eventually joined ISIS. They told the Post that Emwazi "started to radicalize" after several incidents of being detained by counterterrorism officials.

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"I have no doubt that Mohammed is 'Jihadi John,'" one of Emwazi's friends told the Post. "He was like a brother to me... I am sure it is him." Asim Qureshi, research director at human rights group CAGE, also told the Post that there is "an extremely strong resemblance" between Emwazi and the man in the videos.

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In September, James B. Comey, director of the FBI, said that officials believe they have identified "Jihadi John," but they have not revealed his identity.

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Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.