Fears Brit ISIS ‘Beatles’ caught trying to cross into Europe wanted to return to UK to unleash bloodshed
Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh were disguised as refugees when they were detained by Kurdish-led Syrian forces
IT'S feared the ISIS "Beatles" beheading gang captured fleeing Syria were on their way to the UK to cause more bloodshed.
Brit Alexanda Kotey, 34, was detained alongside fellow Londoner El Shafee Elsheikh, 29, after being caught disguised as refugees.
The pair were attempting to travel west via Turkey, according to a senior official from a Kurdish-led Syrian group.
A picture of captured Kotey, exclusively obtained by ITV News, shows the jihadist looking bearded and unkempt following his detainment.
Elsheikh looks dishevelled as he was pictured in custody.
Now it's been reported the pair have provided clues to the whereabouts of their partner in crime Jihadi John's many beheading victims.
A team of military and law enforcement forensic experts has been formed to explore a site near Raqqa, Syria, where the remains of murdered hostages may be located,
The two men have given Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces details about potential burial locations of several hostages killed by Mohammed Emwazi, the notorious British ISIS operative.
US intelligence has long suspected a general location, but had not been able to send US personnel on a search without more specific details and because there has been fighting in the area until recently.
Redur Khalil, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led force, said: “We captured some big commanders. One of them is Alexanda Kotey.
“He was captured by an anti-terrorism unit on January 24 in the countryside near Raqqa.
"He was trying to escape to Turkey in coordination with his friends and contacts on the Turkish side.”
Kotey and Elsheikh could be extradited to the US - a move that British officials are not likely to oppose, according to .
The New York Times reported that Kotey and Elsheikh have had their British citizenship revoked - but this has not been confirmed by authorities in the UK.
If the men were stripped of their British citizenship UK ministers would no longer be duty bound to object to their extradition.
The two British ISIS fighters could stand trial for the murders of at least 25 hostages, including two British aid workers, David Haines and Alan Henning, as well as three US citizens and face the death penalty.
The daughter of Mr Haines, Bethany, said her father’s killers should face “a long, slow, painful death”.
She told BBC Scotland: "The best thing for them is to be locked up and throw away the key.
"They should never be allowed back in society because they will just recruit people and they will do this again."
Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood said it would be wrong to send the two Brits to the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
Mr Ellwood called for the two Brits to face trial in The Hague.
He said: "Given the scale of foreign fighters we should consider an agreed international process involving The Hague, which ensures terrorists from any origin are transparently and fairly held account for their actions."
Along with Mohammed Emwazi - the killer nicknamed Jihadi John - and Aine Davis, the pair are thought to have been part of a group named after the '60s band because of their English accents.
The four Londoners were linked to dozens of hostage murders in Iraq and Syria while serving under the self-styled caliphate.
The news comes after the Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said Britain should abandon the fate of two captured ISIS fanatics from the killer "Beatles” gang and not put them on trial in the UK.
Despite pleas to bring the jihadi butchers home to face British justice, Mr Williamson said: “I don’t think they should ever set foot in this country again.”
Speaking exclusively to The Sun he blasted: “They turned their back on Britain, our values and everything we stand for - they are the worst of the worst.”
Mr Williamson said: “These people have killed innocents and tried to bring terror to the streets of our country.”
“I am glad they have been hunted down and now is time for them to be held to account and pay the price for their barbaric crimes.”
Information gained from the two men has already lead to a number of operations hunting down other jihadis, has claimed.
Brits Kotey and Elsheikh were detained by US-led Kurdish militia fighters in January.
Alongside with Mohammed Emwazi - the killer nicknamed Jihadi John - and Aine Davis, are thought to have beheaded 27 innocents.
The evil foursome were dubbed “The Beatles” by their captives because of their distinctive British accents.
Last night a Whitehall source said the men were no longer British citizens - reducing their chances of being brought back to the UK.
The highly unusual move to revoke their British passports was reportedly approved by the Home Office.
The Chairman of the powerful Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee suggested justice should be carried out by the Kurds.
Former soldier and Tory MP Tom Tugednhat said: “If they are no longer British citizens they should be handled by the appropriate local authorities."
But French journalist Nicolas Henin who was held hostage by IS for 10 months and believes “The Beatles” were among his captors, wants to see them tried in the UK.
He told the BBC: “I would like to see them brought back to Britain, just like I would like to see all other European jihadis brought back to their home countries, to be judged fairly in their home country.
“Because the worst thing we can do with a terrorist is to deprive him from his right because then you make the terrorist a victim.”
Diane Foley - whose son James was captured and beheaded - said to today she wanted the men to face life imprisonment.
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Last night US officials said the pair “are suspected to have participated in the detention, exploitation and execution of Western detainees”.
Asked if they would be prosecuted and if so where they might face trial Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway said: “We are still considering options regarding el-Sheikh and Kotey, but rest assured our intention is to hold anyone accountable who commits acts like those they are alleged to have committed.”
He said US Government agencies are working closely with coalition partners “on the disposition of detainees in SDF detention”.
He confirmed they are being held in a “detention location” in Syria but said he could not give any further information.
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