Second Briton identified as member of infamous ISIS execution squad

A second member of the ISIS quartet of executions called the "Beatles" was identified

(Image credit: Getty Images)

last updated 8 February 2016

U.S. and British intelligence have identified a second member of a quartet of brutal Islamic State prison guards and executioners known by former Western prisoners as the "Beatles" because of their British accents, The Washington Post and BuzzFeed News report. The leader, "Jihadi John" (Mohammed Emwazi), is believed to have been killed in a U.S. airstrike in November 2015, but the whereabouts of the second identified member, Alexanda Kotey — either "Ringo" or "George" — are unknown.

Kotey, 32, was raised in West London by a Cypriot mother. His Ghanian father died when Kotey was a toddler. He reportedly converted to Islam in his 20s, after falling in love with a Muslim woman with whom he had two daughters, and he is believed to have become radicalized at the same mosque attended by Emwazi, or through a London-based Islamic extremist group known as the London Boys. Kotey left England in 2009 as part of an aid convoy to Gaza organized by British politician George Galloway.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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