British-born pair charged in US over ISIS hostage murders

El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey have been flown to the US to face trial after two years in detention.

Both of the British-born citizens are alleged to have been part of a four-man squad known by their captives as ‘the Beatles’ because of their British accents. The charges against them include eight counts of conspiracy to commit murder, hostage taking resulting in death and material support to a terrorist group.

The two defendants were stripped of their UK citizenship but their extradition to the US was held up by a British court until the US attorney general, William Barr, agreed not to pursue death penalties. This led to the UK handing over evidence on the two men to US prosecutors in September.

The trial of the two men comes two years after their capture by Kurdish forces in Syria.

The group’s victims included the British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, the US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and the US aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller, who was also tortured and raped. In total, US prosecutors say the squad beheaded more than 27 hostages.

Speaking on behalf of families of the US victims, the James Foley Legacy Foundation said: “James, Peter, Kayla and Steven were kidnapped, tortured, beaten, starved, and murdered by members of the Islamic State in Syria. Now our families can pursue accountability for these crimes against our children in a US court.”