The “Beatles” may have revelled in a light-hearted nickname but the jihadists formed one of the cruellest and most feared Islamic State cells in the so-called caliphate. They were given their nickname because of their British accents and subsequently adopted with irony the personae of the band members. Alexanda Kotey, who was born in London to a Ghanaian father and Greek-Cypriot mother, was referred to as “Jihadi Ringo”. El Shafee Elsheikh, who was born in Sudan, is said to have been known as “George”. The pair, who have been stripped of their British citizenship, were captured in…

Source: The Times October 10, 2019 23:01 UTC