FBI 'identifies' IS militant who killed journalists Foley and Sotloff
Meanwhile, Iraqi and US officials are
looking into claims of a terrorist plot aimed at New York
and Paris .
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, FBI chief James Comey
announced a significant step in the hunt for the "Islamic State"
militant responsible for the deaths of American journalists, James Foley and
Steven Sotloff.
"We believe we have identified the executioner,"
Comey said.
The masked jihadist (pictured), who appears in both
execution videos, had caught the attention of the West. The fact that he spoke
with a British accent drew attention to the previously underestimated role of
foreign fighters within the extremist group, which now controls larges swathes
of land in
However, the FBI chief declined to comment further on the
case or indicating the man's nationality.
"I won't tell you who it is," he said.
The Islamist extremist group began the barbaric executions
of citizens in August as revenge against countries who are contributing to the
US-led air strikes in Iraq
and Syria .
Foley and Sotloff were their first two victims. They were executed within
several weeks of each other. They also beheaded a British aid worker, David
Haines, in the weeks that followed.
Comey also commented on new evidence of North American
involvement in the jihadist group based on a video released recently.
"There's no doubt that there's someone speaking with a
North American-accented English on that video, so that's a big focus of ours
right now," Comey said.
Leaders from across the globe have grown alarmed at the
swift rise of the jihadist group and particularly of its effective recruitment
of men from countries where the Muslim populations form a small minority. These
include several major western European countries, the United States , Canada
and Australia .
Subway plot unconfirmed
Meanwhile on Thursday, Iraq's prime minister, Haider
al-Abadi, told reporters on the sidelines at the United Nations that he had
evidence of a terrorist plot against the US and France. Iraqi intelligence had
received the information from militants they had captured, he said, adding that
foreign fighters from France
and the US
were co-conspirators.
The terrorist plot purportedly targets the subway system in New York City and Paris .
However, government officials from both the United States and France have said they had no
information that could confirm the Iraqi prime minister's claim.
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