British rapper a suspect in ISIS beheading

A British rapper whose father is awaiting trial in Manhattan for a pair of US embassy bombings is a leading suspect in the barbaric beheading of American journalist James Foley, it was revealed on Friday.

Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary — who recently tweeted a photo of himself holding up a severed head — was among three Brits identified as possibly being the masked killer known as “John the Beatle.”
Bary, 24, is the son of an Egyptian-born militant who is awaiting trial on terror charges tied to the deadly 1998 bombings of embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Also under investigation are the brother of a British doctor once charged with kidnapping two Western war correspondents, and a former gang member who converted to Islam and traveled to Syria, Britain’s Telegraph newspaper reported.

A dozen American counterterrorism experts are expected to fly to the UK “within days” to help identify Foley’s killer, Britain’s Daily Mail reported.

Former hostages held by ISIS have said he is one of several jihadists they nicknamed “the Beatles” due to their British accents, with two of his cronies referred to as “George” and “Ringo.”

Bary, who went to Syria last year to fight in its bloody civil war, has a build, skin tone and ­accent all similar to those of “John,” according to The Telegraph.

  

Before becoming a jihadist, he was an aspiring rapper from West London known as “L Jinny,” whose music was played on BBC Radio 1. Bary also appeared in music videos posted on YouTube for songs titled “Overdose,” “Flying High” and “Dreamer.” But he was reportedly radicalized by followers of firebrand ­Islamic preacher Anjem Choudary and walked out of his family’s plush home in the Maida Vale district of London last year, saying he was “leaving everything for the sake of Allah.”

Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary posted this photo to Twitter, showing him holding a severed head.

Earlier this month, he was seen in a photo posted to Twitter wearing camouflage clothing and a black balaclava while holding a severed head with his left hand — the same hand “John” is seen using to draw a knife across Foley’s throat in his execution video.

According to The Telegraph, Bary is on an official list of British jihadists who may be “John.” Also on the list is Razul Islam, 21, the paper says. In 2012, Islam’s two older brothers — including Dr. Shajul Islam, a suspended physician with England’s National Health Service — were charged with kidnapping two Western war correspondents near the Syrian border with Turkey.

But the brothers were released last year after neither British journalist John Cantile nor Dutch photographer Jeroen Oerlmans appeared to testify against them.

Another suspect is Aine Davis, 30, a former drug dealer and gang member who The Telegraph said converted to Islam and flew to Syria to wage jihad.

 

James Wright Foley

Freejamesfoley.org/Manu Brabo