"Today is a good day, but it is also a solemn one," John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security in the Justice Department, said at a news conference on Wednesday. Videos of the killings, released online in the form of ISIS propaganda, stunned the U.S. government for their unflinching violence. The State Department described their conduct in terms not nearly so benign. The State Department has said Elsheikh "was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions and crucifixions while serving as an ISIS jailer." Kotey, according to the State Department, acted as an ISIS recruiter and "likely engaged in the group's executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding."

Source: CBC News October 07, 2020 15:52 UTC