British rapper suspected as Foley's executioner

Admin Tue 26 Aug 2014, 12:09 pm

Rapper identified as James Foley's executioner: reports
Date August 24, 2014 Rachel Browne

British rapper suspected as Foley's executioner
London rapper Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary has been identified as the leading suspect in the beheading of US journalist James Foley, according to reports.
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British intelligence agencies MI5 and MI6 have identified the man suspected of the horrific beheading of American journalist James Foley, according to British media reports.
The hooded man with an English accent is believed to be 23-year-old Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, known to fellow Islamic State militants as Jihadi John.
Key suspect: Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary who raps under the name Lyricist Jinn. Photo: YouTube
The former rapper left his family home in an affluent west London suburb last year to fight in the civil war in Syria.
In early August he tweeted a photo of himself wearing military camouflage and a black hood, while holding a severed head in his left hand.
British SAS forces are hunting Foley's killer, using a range of high-tech equipment to track him down and potentially free other hostages.
Murdered: American journalist James Foley. Photo: AP
The Mail on Sunday is reporting that a "significant force" of SAS personnel has been deployed to northern Iraq over the past two days, joining local units fighting the Islamic State. They have fanned out into four-man teams, accompanying Iraqi and Kurdish troops in an effort to find British jihadists.
The Sunday Times reports that Bary is the key focus of the manhunt. He is one of the British jihadists referred to by former hostages as the Beatles because of their British accents. The two others were called "George" and "Ringo".
The two other Britons suspected of involvement in the crime are Aine Davis, a former drug dealer who converted to Islam, and Razul Islam, who is believed to have joined the terrorist group that murdered Foley.
A still from the video of James Foley's execution. Photo: AP
Bary is the son of an Egyptian-born militant who is awaiting trial on terrorism charges in Manhattan, due to his alleged involvement in the bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
Before leaving the family home to fight in Syria, Bary was an aspiring rapper known as L Jinny whose music was played on one of Britain's most popular radio stations, BBC Radio 1.
VIDEO "THE BEGINNING" you tube
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpuBpz4rNw0#t=66
Recordings of his songs will prove vital to the investigating team, with experts using voice recognition technology to match his voice with that of the man who brutally decapitated Mr Foley.
Bary made a number of music videos for his songs, with titles such as Flying High, Dreamer and Overdose.
It is believed he was indoctrinated by an Islamic preacher named Anjem Choudary who persuaded him to join the fight in Syria.

How London rapper L Jinny became Jihadi John, suspected of beheading James Foley
Date August 25, 2014
Megan Levy Breaking news reporter
VIDEO of rapper
British rapper suspected as Foley's executioner
London rapper Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary has been identified as the leading suspect in the beheading of US journalist James Foley, according to reports.
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Execution video 'staged'
Rapper identified as James Foley's executioner: reports
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Is this where Foley was murdered?
Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary was just six years old when his father was arrested and taken away from their London home.
At such a tender age, he could not have known the seriousness of the accusations his father would soon face: that he was one of Osama Bin Laden's lieutenants in Britain, and had played a role in the bombings of two US embassies in east Africa.
Key suspect: Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary who raps under the name Lyricist Jinn Matic. Photo: YouTube
Still, the little boy experienced feelings of anger and loss which, years later and as an up-and-coming rapper, he recalled in lyrics in one of his songs, The Beginning.
"Give me the pride and the honour like my father. I swear the day they came and took my dad, I could have killed a cop or two and I wouldn't look back," raps Bary, who uses the names L Jinny or Lyricist Jinn.
"Imagine back then I was only six, just picture what I'd do now with a loaded stick. Like boom bang fine, I'd be wishing you were dead. Violate my brothers and I'm filling you with lead."
Now, Bary is at the centre of an international manhunt, suspected of being the masked Islamic State militant who carried out the horrific beheading of American journalist James Foley.
The 23-year-old, who is also known as Jihadi John, is believed to have travelled to Syria last year from his home in Maida Vale in west London, where he lived with his mother Ragaa and his five siblings. Their home is owned by Westminster Council, and on the open market would be worth £1 million ($1.8 million), according to British media reports.
His father, Egyptian-born refugee Adel Abdul Bary, is in custody in New York, awaiting trial over his alleged role in the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. He was extradited from Britain to the US in 2011 after an eight-year legal battle, and faces life in prison if convicted. He had been granted political asylum in Britain in 1991 after fleeing Egypt.
The younger Bary came to international attention earlier this year when he posted on Twitter a photograph of himself holding up a severed head. "Chillin' with my homie or what's left of him," he wrote on his Twitter account, which has since been deactivated.
Bary is one of the British jihadists referred to by former hostages as the Beatles, because of their British accents. The two others were called "George" and "Ringo".
The two other Britons suspected of involvement are Aine Davis, a former drug dealer who converted to Islam, and Razul Islam, who is believed to have joined the terrorist group that murdered Foley.
Before travelling to Syria, Bary achieved limited success as a rapper in Britain, where his singles played on BBC Radio 1 in 2012.
In early songs, he appears to make reference to violence and drug use, and talks about the threat of his family being deported to Egypt.
He also raps about the struggles of his life, again referring to his absent father.
"Now they want to send my family back to Egypt. Already feeling sea sick," he raps.
"On top of that the pops is doing life without remand. I've got to keep my calm.
"It's hard to focus on the future with a damaged past. And still I try to count my blessings and I thank the Lord."
Friends claimed Bary grew increasingly radical and violent after mixing with people linked to radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary in Britain.
In the middle of last year, Bary announced that he was turning his back on music as "I have left everything for the sake of Allah".
He changed his Twitter name to Soldier of Allah and posted a number of photographs online of himself posing with guns, while he also praised al-Qaeda founder Bin Laden. He also wrote: "Oh Allah, grant us martyrdom".
Recordings of his songs will prove vital to the investigating team, with experts using voice recognition technology to match his voice with that of the man who decapitated Foley.
Sir Peter Westmacott, the British ambassador to the US, said in an interview on US television that security services were close to identifying the British man.
"We are not far away from that [identifying the man who beheaded Foley]," he said.
"We are putting a lot into it, using voice recognition technology to try to identify him. I cannot say more than this but I know we are close."
The Mail on Sunday reported that a "significant force" of SAS personnel had been deployed to northern Iraq over the past two days, joining local units fighting the Islamic State. They have fanned out into four-man teams, accompanying Iraqi and Kurdish troops in an effort to find British jihadists.
The Sunday Times reported that Bary was the key focus of the manhunt.
Fairfax Media