A former fairground mechanic from west London has been named as the fourth member of the Isis execution squad headed by so-called “Jihadi John”.
The group, known by their captives as “The Beatles” due to their British accents, were led by Londoner Mohammed Emwazi and have been described as some of the most brutal in Isis’s ranks.
The fourth man in the terror cell has been identified by British and American intelligence forces as El Shafee Elsheikh, according to a BuzzFeed News and Washington Post investigation.
Elsheikh, a 27-year-old convert, is believed to be living in Syria where he travelled in 2012 after being radicalised at Mosques in west London, BuzzFeed News reported.
His younger brother, Mahmoud, is understood to have followed Elsheikh to the Middle East and was reportedly killed last year while fighting for Isis in Iraq.
Elsheikh reportedly grew up in White City from the age of 5 after fleeing the civil war in Sudan with his parents – both of whom were members of the country’s Communist party.
According to reports, a former US counter terrorism official and “investigators close to the hunt for the 'Beatles'" confirmed Elsheikh had been identified as one of the guards.
Between them, the four members of the “Beatles” cell tortured dozens of hostages and beheaded 27, including seven British, American and Japanese hostages and 18 members of the Syrian army.
The other two members of the group have since been revealed as Londoners Aine Davis and Alexanda Kotey.
Emwazi was killed in a US drone strike in November, soon after being identified.
Speaking to BuzzFeed News Elshekhi’s mother, Maha Elgizouli, said her son was heavily influenced by the sermons of the west London Islamist preacher Hani al-Sibai, who has also been linked to Emwazi.
Ms Elgizouli said: “That boy is now not my son. That is not the son I raised.”
She claimed she had warned British authorities to confiscate Mahmoud’s passport to stop him following his brother but they refused.
A close family friend described Elsheikh as a “quiet and respectful” boy who had disagreements with his mother over Islam: “One day I remember, he came up to her (pointing aggressively) and said ‘you know, Allah says your mum can be your enemy’”.
