Militant who appeared in IS videos 'identified'

Media reports have identified the militant who appeared in various Islamic State beheading videos as British man Mohammed Emwazi.

The man, who is believed to be from west London, is thought to have been known to British security services.

They chose not to disclose his name earlier for operational reasons, it is understood.

The IS frontman, who has appeared in a series of shocking videos in which hostages, including British aid worker Alan Henning, were murdered, is reported to have grown up in west London and graduated from university with a degree in computer programming.

Scotland Yard has refused to confirm the reports.

Commander Richard Walton, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said: "We have previously asked media outlets not to speculate about the details of our investigation on the basis that life is at risk.

"We are not going to confirm the identity of anyone at this stage or give an update on the progress of this live counter-terrorism investigation."

The man rose to notoriety when he first appeared in a video posted online in August, in which he appeared to kill US journalist James Foley.

Dressed in black with a balaclava covering all but his eyes and the ridge of his nose and a holster under his left arm, he reappeared in videos of the beheadings of US journalist Steven Sotloff, British aid worker David Haines and US aid worker Peter Kassig, as well as in footage of Mr Henning's death.

Last month, he appeared in a video with the Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto, shortly before they were killed.

A detailed Washington Post article claims he is in fact Kuwaiti-born Mohammed Emwazi, who it says travelled to Syria around 2012 before later joining IS, which has taken control of large swathes of the conflict-torn country, as well as territory in neighbouring Iraq.

The article claims Emwazi started to radicalise after a planned safari in Tanzania following his graduation from the University of Westminster was brought to an abrupt end when he was detained on arrival in Dar es Salaam and deported the following day.

It is claimed that Emwazi told friends he was flown to Amsterdam where an officer from MI5 accused him of trying to reach Somalia, where the militant group al-Shabab operates.

Asim Qureshi, a director with British advocacy group Cage, first met Emwazi in 2009 and described him as "extremely kind, extremely gentle...and the most humble person that I ever knew". 

Elsewhere, Islamic State group militants have abducted 220 Assyrian Christians from villages in north-eastern Syria in recent days, a monitoring group said, more than twice as many as previously reported.

"No fewer than 220 Assyrian citizens (of Syria) were abducted by IS over the past three days from 11 villages" in Hasakeh province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Islamic State prepared for prolonged conflict

"Negotiations are under way through mediators from Arab tribes and a member of the Assyrian community to secure the release of the hostages," the Britain-based monitoring group said.

IS has seized ten Christian villages in the Tal Tamer district in the west of the province, prompting a mass exodus of civilians, the Observatory added.

There were 30,000 Assyrians in Syria before the country's civil war erupted in 2011, most of them in Hasakeh. At that point Syria had an estimated Christian population of about 1.2 million.

IS no 'romantic adventure' for women, warns minister

Meanwhile, an Australian minister has said that young women should not be led to believe that there is some romantic adventure attached to supporting the Islamic State group and similar terrorist organisations.

A worrying number of Australian women are heading to Iraq and Syria to become Islamic State "jihadi brides", Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said.

At least 110 Australians have left to fight alongside militants in the Middle East.

Security officials said between 30 and 40 women were among them or were actively supporting the group in Australia.

"Sadly we are seeing a younger cohort seeking to join the conflict in Syria and Iraq and an increasing number of young females," Ms Bishop said.

"This defies logic. Family and friends need to reach out to young people at risk before it's too late."

Police in Britain said this week that they believe three schoolgirls feared to be intent on joining Islamic State had crossed into Syria from Turkey.

An estimated 550 women from across Europe have also travelled to join the jihadists and Ms Bishop said Australia was working with Muslim communities to highlight the risks.

"We have a number of community initiatives and programmes, working with local communities, working with schools, working with families," she said.

"Our initiatives in tackling the spread of online extremist content on websites is also part of that, working with local mosques, working with community groups."

She raised the case of 22-year-old Amira Karroum who left her Sydney home just before Christmas and died in fighting in Syria.

"Her death was not martyrdom, it was a tragic senseless loss," said Ms Bishop.

She added that many women heading to conflict zones were either attracted to male foreign terrorist fighters, were accompanying their partner, or actually looking for a husband and being told online they could find one in Syria and Iraq.

The minister warned they faced a brutal regime that treated women appallingly.

"This is a terrorist organisation that has an appalling track record when it comes to women," she told ABC radio.

"They actually have online instructions on how to treat a sex slave. They encourage sexual assault on children who haven't even reached puberty."

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