US charges Islamic State ‘Beatles’ in beheading of American hostages
- El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey are two of four men allegedly involved in campaign of torture and violence against US, British and Japanese captives
- Victims included American journalist James Foley, whose killing was captured in jihadi video
Two members of a notorious Islamic State kidnapping cell dubbed the “Beatles” appeared in a US court by video link on Wednesday after being flown to the United States from Iraq to face charges of conspiring to murder four American hostages.
El Shafee Elsheikh, 32, and Alexanda Kotey, 36, are accused of involvement in the murders of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and relief workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.
The two former British nationals have been in the custody of US forces in Iraq since October 2019 after being captured in January 2018 by Syrian Kurdish forces.
They were brought to the United States by FBI agents on Wednesday and the charges against them were read during an initial appearance in a federal court in Alexandria.
Wearing prison uniforms, handcuffs and face masks, the bearded Isis members appeared on video from an undisclosed location in Virginia where they are being held.
