Two ISIS Militants Accused Of Kidnapping And Killing Four Americans Arrive In US For Trial

Two ISIS militants have arrived in the U.S. to face charges relating to the kidnapping and eventual deaths of four Americans, as well as a multitude of people from other nations. An indictment in the Eastern District Court of Virginia accuses Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh of kidnapping Westerners and either killing them or ransoming them in exchange for concessions from the U.S. government.

Kotey and Elsheikh were originally from the U.K., and are believed to have been radicalized within their home country and participating in pro-9/11 demonstrations before leaving in 2012 to join radical Islamists in Syria. They were captured in 2018 by the Syrian military as they attempted to flee the country.

Kotey and Elsheikh allegedly ran an extensive scheme to kidnap foreigners with a compatriot of theirs, Mohamed Emwazi, who beheaded American, British, and Japanese citizens on camera. Along with another, unnamed British citizen, the four were known to their captives as "The Beatles."

Four of Kotey and Elsheikh's American hostages — Jim Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller — were captured in Syria from 2012 to 2013 and eventually killed. Kotey and Elsheikh allegedly tormented their victims with physical, psychological, and sexual abuse before their executions. Foley, Sotloff and Kassig were beheaded on camera to create propaganda videos. Mueller was sexually abused by self-proclaimed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before an email from ISIS fighters to her family confirmed her death.

Kotey, Elsheikh and Emwazi were also alleged to have “forcibly seized the following additional individuals: two [U.K.] citizens, an Italian citizen, a Danish citizen, a German citizen, four French citizens, three Spanish citizens, a New Zealand citizen, and a Russian citizen.”

The indictment accuses them of forcing the Italian, Danish and German hostages to witness the videotaped execution of a Syrian prisoner, who was shot as he fell into a grave. The hostages were forced to kneel next to the grave holding signs begging for their freedom. Elsheikh allegedly told one of them afterward, “You’re next.”

Attorney General William Barr wrote in the announcement of the indictment: “These charges are the product of many years of hard work in pursuit of justice for our citizens slain by ISIS. Although we cannot bring them back, we can and will seek justice for them, their families and for all Americans. Our message to other terrorists around the world is this - if you harm Americans, you will face American arms on the battlefield or American law in our courtrooms. Either way, you will be pursued to the ends of the earth until justice is done.”

The two will appear in court today. Their charges are conspiracy to commit hostage taking resulting in death, four counts of hostage taking resulting in death, conspiracy to murder United States citizens outside the U.S., conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists resulting in death and conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death. All told, they each face a potential maximum sentence of life in prison.