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Jihadi John’s British ISIS ‘Beatles’ admit involvement in kidnap, torture and rape of US hostage Kayla Mueller
TWO members of the infamous ISIS "Beatles" have admitted their involvement in the kidnap, torture and rape of American hostage Kayla Mueller.
El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey - known as "George" and "Ringo" - confessed to seeing Kayla imprisoned and getting an email address from her to try and blackmail her parents for ransom.
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Kayla - a 26-year-old aid worker - was kidnapped in Aleppo, Syria, before being tortured and raped by ISIS before she was killed in unknown circumstances in 2015.
The two terrorists did not admit to participating in the abuse - but her family believe they were a key part of the horror that Kayla endured while held captive, reports .
US officials believe both men participated in brutal murders, horrific torture and even crucifixions.
Kayla is claimed to have been raped by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and kept as a slave by jihadi warlord Abu Sayyaf.
The ISIS "Beatles" were a group of four British fighters nicknamed as such by their hostages for their accents.
Along with Kotey and Elsheikh, there was also Mohammed Emwazi, "John", and the final member of the "band" is believed to have been Aine Davis, "Paul".
"John" was killed in an airstrike by the US in November 2015, while "Paul" was jailed in Turkey in May 2017.
"George" and "Ringo" are now being held by the US military in Iraq, and both previously denied ever having met Kayla.
Their latest confession gives more ammo for families wanting to have them brought to the US to face justice.
Emails sent to Kayla's family featured the terrorists demanding a ransom of £4.5million or they would be send her mum and dad a picture of her corpse.
It is believed the so-called "Beatles" are behind 27 killings, including the beheadings of British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning along with American journalist James Foley.
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Being interviewed from prison, both terrorists admitted for the first time to having being involved in the brutality inflicted on Kayla.
Kotey said: "She was in a room by herself that no one would go in."
Elsheikh added: "I took an email from her myself.
"She was in a large room, it was dark, and she was alone, and…she was very scared."
Both men denied having ever met her during a 2018 interview with the BBC, with Elsheikh saying "who?" and Kotey insisting "we didn't meet any foreign non-Muslims".
And in their latest interview, they again sort to distance themselves from the atrocities committed against prisoners.
However, each admitted to beating hostages and to attempts to blackmail devastated families to extract ransoms.
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Families of ISIS victims in the US published an opinion piece in the begging for the two men to be brought to the US for prosecution.
Kayla's mum Marsha said: "They did so much horror to so many people. They need to be brought here. They need to be prosecuted.
"The other thing that's really important to me about this is I need information about Kayla. We know so little about what happened to her."
She added: "I believe these two have more information than they're sharing with us. And I believe that we would find out more if they were brought here."
Kayla's dad Carl Mueller said: "They're admitting that they were there.
"And of course, they're not going to tell the dark side of the story.”
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US officials are reportedly determined that both men should face charges in an American courtroom.
Britain has however said it will not share evidence with US prosecutors if the two face the death penalty.
US State Department officials say Kotey "likely engaged in the group's executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding" in his role as a jail guard.
And similar allegations are made against Elsheikh who "was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions, and crucifixions".
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Kotey and Elsheikh were detained in North Syria by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in January 2018.
Kotey is believed to have lived in West London until 2009 when he travelled to Gaza in an aid convoy - with his family "deeply distressed" by his turn to terror.
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Elsheikh also grew up in West London but traveled to Syria in 2012, previously working as a mechanic and being described as a QPR fan.
After their arrest both claimed they joined the terrorist group for "religious reasons" and were stripped of their right to be a UK citizen.
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