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No Certainty ‘Jihadi John’ Was Killed in Airstrike, David Cameron Says No Certainty ‘Jihadi John’ Was Killed in Airstrike, David Cameron Says
(35 minutes later)
LONDON — Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said on Friday that “we cannot yet be certain” whether an airstrike aimed at Mohammed Emwazi, the most prominent British member of the Islamic State, was successful, although he praised the United States for launching the attack.LONDON — Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said on Friday that “we cannot yet be certain” whether an airstrike aimed at Mohammed Emwazi, the most prominent British member of the Islamic State, was successful, although he praised the United States for launching the attack.
Mr. Cameron spoke outside 10 Downing Street the morning after the Pentagon confirmed that the airstrike, near the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, Syria, had targeted Mr. Emwazi, who is commonly known as Jihadi John.Mr. Cameron spoke outside 10 Downing Street the morning after the Pentagon confirmed that the airstrike, near the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, Syria, had targeted Mr. Emwazi, who is commonly known as Jihadi John.
Calling the Islamic State an “evil terrorist death cult,” Mr. Cameron defended the decision to target Mr. Emwazi, who was born in Kuwait and is a naturalized British citizen, as “an act of self-defense” and “the right thing to do.”Calling the Islamic State an “evil terrorist death cult,” Mr. Cameron defended the decision to target Mr. Emwazi, who was born in Kuwait and is a naturalized British citizen, as “an act of self-defense” and “the right thing to do.”
“We have been working with the United States literally around the clock to track him down,” Mr. Cameron said. “This was a combined effort, and the contribution of both our countries was essential. Emwazi was a barbaric murderer.” “We have been working with the United States literally around the clock to track him down,” Mr. Cameron said. “This was a combined effort, and the contribution of both our countries was essential. Emwazi is a barbaric murderer.”
Mr. Cameron called Mr. Emwazi, who is 27, a “serious and ongoing threat to innocent civilians not only in Syria, but around the world and in the United Kingdom, too.” Mr. Cameron called Mr. Emwazi, who is 27, a “ongoing and serious threat to innocent civilians not only in Syria, but around the world and in the United Kingdom, too.”
Using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS, Mr. Cameron added, “He was ISIL’s lead executioner, and let us never forget that he killed many, many Muslims, too.”Using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS, Mr. Cameron added, “He was ISIL’s lead executioner, and let us never forget that he killed many, many Muslims, too.”
Civil liberties advocates have criticized any official British attempt to kill Mr. Emwazi as possibly unlawful, in a debate that paralleled the criticism over the Obama administration’s decision to target and kill Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born cleric and a United States citizen, in Yemen in 2011.Civil liberties advocates have criticized any official British attempt to kill Mr. Emwazi as possibly unlawful, in a debate that paralleled the criticism over the Obama administration’s decision to target and kill Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born cleric and a United States citizen, in Yemen in 2011.
Mr. Cameron made clear on Friday that his government had taken part in the United States’ decision to target Mr. Emwazi.Mr. Cameron made clear on Friday that his government had taken part in the United States’ decision to target Mr. Emwazi.
“The United Kingdom has no better friend or ally,” he said. “If this strike was successful — and we still await confirmation of that — it will be a strike at the heart of ISIL, and it will demonstrate to those who would do Britain, its people and its allies harm that we have a long reach, we have unwavering determination and we never forget about our citizens.” “The United Kingdom has no better friend or ally,” he said.
Mr. Cameron then recited a list of Mr. Emwazi’s reported victims: Kenji Goto, a journalist, and Haruna Yukawa, an adventurer, both Japanese; the American journalists Steven J. Sotloff and James Foley; the American aid worker Peter Kassig, also known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig; and two British aid workers, David Cawthorne Haines and Alan Henning. He added, “If this strike was successful — and we still await confirmation of that — it will be a strike at the heart of ISIL, and it will demonstrate to those who would do Britain, our people and our allies harm we have a long reach, we have unwavering determination and we never forget about our citizens.”
“Nothing will bring back David and Alan,” Mr. Cameron said. “Their courage and selflessness stand in stark contrast to the empty callousness of their murderer. Their friends and their families should be proud of them, as we are. They were the best of British, and they will be remembered long after the murderers of ISIL are forgotten.” Mr. Cameron then recited a list of Mr. Emwazi’s reported victims: Kenji Goto, a journalist, and Haruna Yukawa, an adventurer, both Japanese; the American journalists Steven J. Sotloff and James Foley; the American aid worker Peter Kassig, also known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig; and two British aid workers, David Cawthorne Haines and Alan Henning.
“Nothing will bring back David and Alan,” Mr. Cameron said. “Their courage and selflessness stand in stark contrast to the empty callousness of their murderers. Their friends and their families should be proud of them, as we are. They were the best of British, and they will be remembered long after the murderers of ISIL are forgotten.”