August 23, 2015 Faith Matters

Jihadi John’s Threats to Behead People Apparently Circulated on Viber

The Daily Mail initially reported that it had received unique footage on threats being made allegedly by Jihadi John. The threats seem to have been made on a mobile phone camera some 2 months ago and were then circulated using VIBER and through mobile phone networks. The video purports to show Jihadi John as he is travelling and his statements come across with a British accent.

Free Syrian Army contacts in Bulgaria and in Turkey passed on the video and what this brings to light once again is the way that the FSA is managing to capture such data from SIM cards that are still active and beyond the shores of Syria. This is one of the key ways that such information is being captured and disseminated beyond the country. In fact, the very networks that IS use, potentially open them up to intelligence communities, though the rapid opening and closing of social media accounts and the use of disposable SIMS means that tracking becomes difficult.

Suggestions that Mohammed Emwazi left Syria for Libya may well be wrong given this video that has surfaced and which places him within Syria.