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Trial of an alleged Islamic State terrorist who was member of a gaggle that beheaded US hostages in Iraq and Syria started on Tuesday within the US. The group was often known as “The Beatles” for his or her British accent.
El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, will stand trial in federal court docket in Alexandria, Virginia, simply outdoors Washington, on expenses together with deadly hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit homicide.
Elsheikh was one in all 4 ISIS militants belonging to the four-member Islamic State cell. The cell garnered worldwide consideration after releasing movies of the murders of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and help staff Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig, amongst different victims.
Two of the cell’s 4 members, Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, had been held in Iraq by the US army earlier than being flown to the US to face trial.
Mohammed Emwazi, a British citizen who oversaw the executions, died in a drone strike in 2015. Aine Lesley Davis, the fourth member of the group, was convicted in Turkey on terrorism expenses and jailed.
Kotey pleaded responsible in September 2021 to the murders of Foley, Sotloff, Mueller and Kassig. He can be sentenced subsequent month.
Kotey was a citizen of the UK, however the British authorities withdrew his citizenship.
The fees towards Elsheikh, a UK citizen, carry a possible dying sentence, however US prosecutors have suggested British officers that they won’t search the dying penalty towards Elsheikh or Kotey.
US District Decide TS Ellis will oversee the trial, and is predicted to spend Tuesday questioning potential jurors to make sure a good trial.
Elsheikh’s legal professionals have stated the killings had been deliberate and carried out by Emwazi on the behest of Islamic State management.
(With inputs from companies)
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