United Kingdom: arrest of Aine Davis, one of the alleged “Beatles” of the Islamic State – Le Figaro

The group of four jihadists are suspected of torturing and killing journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller. A Briton accused of being part of a cell of kidnappers and assassins from the Islamic State group (EI), known as ‘The Beatles’, was arrested in the UK on Wednesday, according to British media. Aine Davis, 38, was arrested after landing at Luton Airport, northwest London, on a flight from Turkey, where he had just served seven and a half years in prison for acts of terrorism , announced several British media, including the BBC. Aine Davis is accused of being part of a cell of kidnappers and assassins of the IS which kidnapped dozens of foreigners in Syria between 2012 and 2015. The hostages had nicknamed the group of jihadists “Beatles” because of their British accent. The Metropolitan Police, which handle terrorism investigations in the UK, said in a statement that they had arrested a man at Luton Airport who was currently “in police custody”, without giving his name. .Extradited to USA Home Office spokesman meanwhile said in a statement that a British national had been deported from Turkey to the UK but that it was “inappropriate to give further information while police investigations are ongoing”. The four members of the “Beatles” are accused of kidnapping at least 27 journalists and aid workers from the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, New Zealand, Russia and Japan. They are also suspected of having tortured and killed, in particular by decapitation, the American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as the humanitarian workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller. IS had released propaganda videos showing their executions on social media. Two of the ‘Beatles’, Alexanda Kotey (38) and El Shafee Elsheikh (34), former British nationals, were arrested in January 2018 by a Kurdish militia in Syria and handed over to US forces in Iraq before being sent to the United Kingdom. Read also Is Daesh reborn in its former strongholds in Iraq and Syria? They were finally extradited in 2020 to the United States, to Virginia, on charges of taking hostages, conspiracy to kill American citizens and support for a foreign terrorist organization. Alexanda Kotey pleaded guilty to his involvement in the murders in September and was sentenced to life in prison in April. El Shafee Elsheikh was convicted on all counts in April and will be sentenced next week. The fourth ‘Beatles’ executioner, Mohamed Emwazi, was killed by a US drone in Syria in 2015. In 2014, Aine Davis’ wife, Amal El-Wahabi, became the first person in the UK to be convicted for financing ISIS jihadists for trying to send 20,000 euros to her husband in Syria. During her trial, after which she was imprisoned for 28 months, Aine Davis was portrayed as a drug trafficker before leaving for Syria. SEE ALSO – Erdogan wants to establish a safety belt against terrorism in northern syria