James Foley beheading: US to take custody of two British Islamic State militants dubbed the ‘Beatles’
- Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are accused of being involved in execution of the US journalist and other Western captives
- Pair are being handed to US military because Turkish incursion into Syria threatens their continued detention by Kurdish forces
Two British men accused of involvement in the Islamic State’s summary executions of Western hostages, including Americans, are being transferred into US military custody because the Turkish incursion into Syria threatened their continued detention by Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria, according to US officials.
The pair – part of a group of four British militants dubbed the “Beatles” by their hostages – were being detained with the goal of putting them on trial in the United States, said a senior US official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.
That official said the two men had been taken to Iraq; other officials said they and other high-value detainees were being placed in US military custody but could not say where they were being taken.
A criminal prosecution in the United States rests on the ability to obtain evidence from British authorities – a matter being litigated in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the official said.
The British men are accused of involvement in the beheading of journalist James Foley and other Western hostages.