Cameron says attack on ‘Jihadi John’ was ‘self-defense’

By Hanna Trudo

Terrorist was most recognized from his appearances in execution videos.

A U.S. airstrike against an ISIL executioner known as “Jihadi John” was an act of self-defense, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Friday.
“Jihadi John,” real name Mohammed Emwazi, is believed to have been killed in the operation, although Cameron said, “We cannot yet be certain if the strike was successful.”

According to ABC News, a U.S. official described the attack as a “clean hit” with no harm to others on the ground. He also said that Emwazi, a British citizen, was “eviscerated” upon leaving a building in Raqqa, Syria, before entering a vehicle.
Emwazi, believed to have been born in Kuwait, became know for his appearances wearing a black hooded robe in videos depicting the violent executions of Westerners. His videos were narrated in English with a British accent.
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a statement: “U.S. forces conducted an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, on November 12, 2015 targeting Mohamed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John.”
“Emwazi, a British citizen, participated in the videos showing the murders of U.S. journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, U.S. aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, and a number of other hostages.”
Emwazi’s first video appearance occurred in August 2014, in a video that portrays Foley’s execution.
In a brief statement outside Downing Street on Friday morning, Cameron said: “[Mohammed Emwazi] posed an ongoing and serious threat … This [airstrike] was an act of self-defence. It was the right thing to do.”
He described Emwazi as a “barbaric murderer” adding that “We have been working literally around the clock with the U.S. to track him down. This was a combined effort and the contribution of both our countries was essential.”
“I have always said we would do whatever is necessary to track him down,” Cameron said. “Britain and our allies will not rest until we have defeated this evil terrorist death cult and the poisonous ideology on which it feeds.”