--- description: British media has dubbed him "Jihadi John" because of his London accent title: Jihadi John: Is this the executioner who beheaded Western hostages? image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Middle East](/tag/middle-east/) ## Middle East Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Is This the ISIS Executioner Who Beheaded Western Hostages?  by [Naina Bajekal](/author/naina-bajekal/)  ## Naina Bajekal Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME. Dec 11, 2014 2:36 PM CUT  by [Naina Bajekal](/author/naina-bajekal/)  ## Naina Bajekal Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME. Dec 11, 2014 2:36 PM CUT A fighter in Syria tweeted a photo on Wednesday which appears to give the clearest image yet of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) executioner believed to be responsible for killing several hostages. > [](https://twitter.com/abuanasmujahid/status/542705953712263168) [“Jihadi John” is the nickname given to the masked militant](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11238781/Who-is-Jihadi-John-in-60-seconds.html "undefined") who has featured in several propaganda videos released by ISIS. He is believed to be a British national from London and is responsible for the videotaped beheadings of [numerous hostages](http://time.com/3591703/obama-us-hostage-policy/ "undefined"), including two Syrian soldiers, the American journalists [James](http://time.com/3145747/james-foley-isis-iraq-steven-sotloff/ "undefined")  The ISIS executioner as seen in the James Foley video. AP [Foley](http://time.com/3145747/james-foley-isis-iraq-steven-sotloff/ "undefined") and [Steven Sotloff](http://time.com/3259390/in-praise-of-steven-sotloff/ "undefined"), British aid workers [David Haines](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/13/isis-video-david-haines-beheading "undefined") and [Alan Henning](http://time.com/3462526/isis-execution-iraq-syria-alan-henning/ "undefined"), and most recently U.S. aid worker [Peter Kassig](http://time.com/3587620/isis-us-aid-worker-peter-kassig/ "undefined"). Intelligence agencies say they have [identified](https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCMQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.sky.com%2Fstory%2F1342227%2Ffbi-islamic-states-jihadi-john-identified&ei=vI6JVK%5FRMpLgaLWrgsgK&usg=AFQjCNFWMeJLjG2B6uzK9-vQStu0ckeymg&sig2=VoNdriyxvsjqWX2Rf8Xo9w&bvm=bv.81456516,d.d2s "undefined") Jihadi John but have yet to reveal his name. **Read more:** [ISIS mass beheading video took up to six hours to film and multiple takes](http://time.com/3624976/isis-beheading-technology-video-trac-quilliam/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3629605/isis-isil-jihadi-john-photo-beheading-hostages/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3629605/isis-isil-jihadi-john-photo-beheading-hostages/"},"headline":"Is This the ISIS Executioner Who Beheaded Western Hostages?","datePublished":"2014-12-11T14:36:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:43.821Z","description":"British media has called him \"Jihadi John\" because of his London accent","url":"https://time.com/3629605/isis-isil-jihadi-john-photo-beheading-hostages/","keywords":["Middle East"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Naina Bajekal","jobTitle":"Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/naina-bajekal/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/middle-east/","name":"Middle East"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3629605/isis-isil-jihadi-john-photo-beheading-hostages/","name":"Is This the ISIS Executioner Who Beheaded Western Hostages?"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Why So Many Foreign Fighters Join ISIS","description":"A growing number of foreigners is joining the Islamic militant group - but why?","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/xvTQSd5R/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-09-05T19:18:34.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xvTQSd5R.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3629605/isis-isil-jihadi-john-photo-beheading-hostages/","duration":"PT2M58S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3629605/isis-isil-jihadi-john-photo-beheading-hostages/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```