A 'nice, polite and well-spoken' Londoner has been unmasked as a member of the notorious ISIS execution cell once led by Jihadi John.
Alexanda Kotey is reportedly part of the murderous gang, dubbed the “Beatles” because of their UK accents and thought to be responsible for the beheadings of 27 hostages.
The 32-year-old grew up in Shepherd's Bush in west London, is half-Ghanaian, half-Greek Cypriot and an avid QPR fan. Exposed by an ITV investigation, he was from a family of dress cutters and lived just under two miles from Mohammed Emwazi, the real name of the now dead Jihadi John.
It is not clear whether Kotey's nickname was 'George' or 'Ringo'. His whereabouts are currently unknown, according to the Washington Post. Kotey reportedly attended London’s Al-Manaar mosque with Emwazi and a third Brit, Aine Davis. Davis was exposed as being a member of ISIS, a close associate of Emwazi and a suspected member of the 'Beatles' gang last November.
Speaking to ITV News yesterday, an acquaintance of Davis and Kotey said: "I wasn't so surprised [Kotey] always had a lot of currency and pulled a lot of people into his orbit. "He was a nice, polite and well-spoken person he was brooding and could be capable of plotting things behind the scenes.
"He radiates a road man influence, someone who has had a lot of experiences in life, had a lot of hardships and people younger than him, who haven't, look up to him and he can speak to people on the level.
"He could have been in trouble with the police, he was like a politician, and he works the room. People were dispossessed and he was a magnet for those people, he understands that energy.
"It was Alex most definitely who was the lynchpin, the main recruiter person who sucked people into his orbit not the mosque. The mosque did so much to keep these people at the fringes."
Kotey - described as a “quiet and humble” football fan - travelled to the Middle East in 2009 during an aid convoy which was reportedly organised by politician George Galloway. Friends have not heard from him since
Ron McKay, a spokesman for Mr Galloway, said the latter had not heard Kotey's name until press reports today. He said: "It (the aid convoy) pre-dates the formation of IS, and there were something like 120 vehicles and around 500 people on it.
"Neither he nor I - as I was also on it - have any recollection of this guy. "His name wasn't known to George before now. It is entirely possible that they could have been on that trip, but George just doesn't know the name."
Davis - a close friend of Emwazi - was detained in Istanbul last November, according to Turkish officials.
At the time security sources have revealed he was held with a group of others who could have been planning an attack in Istanbul in parallel with the Paris outrage. The source said: “Davis is a figure with key responsibilities within ISIS and he wasn’t caught alone. He was within a group." Via LIB
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