US urges UK to take back two Daesh suspects from Syria

Authorities in the United States are seeking to block Britain’s efforts to extradite two notorious Daesh terrorists which the country’s Home Office (interior ministry) hopes would be tried in a court which permits execution.

Commander of US special ops, Major General Patrick Roberson, called on London on Monday to take back El Shafee Elsheik and Alexanda Kotey, two radicalized British nationals who had fought among the ranks of Daesh militants in Syria over the past years.

Asked whether the El Shafee Elsheik and Alexanda Kotey should be repatriated to the UK, Major General Roberson said: “We would certainly like them to be.”

He said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed coalition of mainly Kurdish militants in north eastern Syria, and the US were “working very hard to make sure that the countries of origin get these foreign terrorist fighters back into their custody”.

Roberson admitted it was a decision for each country involved, but he added: “I think the SDF and us would certainly like them to be repatriated to where they came from.”

Elsheikh and Kotey are each accused of being part of a four-person Daesh cell, known as “Beatles” because of their British accents, which has been suspected of beheadings of 27 people, including westerners, in Syria. The notorious cell also included Mohammed Emwazi, known as “Jihadi John”, who was killed in a US air strike in 2015, while the fourth suspected member was Aine Davis, who in now behind bars in Turkey.

Refusing to receive the Daesh suspects, the UK government has held talks with Washington to send the terrorists to the US instead so that they could stand trial over their alleged involvement in the murder of hostages.

SS