The FBI knows the identity of the Islamic State executioner responsible for beheading two American journalists on video, Director James Comey said Thursday.
But the Federal Bureau of Investigation has not publicly named the British-accented terrorist, dubbed 'Jihadi John' for his English roots.
Speculation has swirled for weeks about the identity of the masked knifeman - seen on video completely covered in a black cloak and threatening President Obama - responsible for the gruesome killings of 40-year-old James Foley and Steven Sotloff, 31.
Mike Groll/AP
British officials also believe they have named the barbaric thug, identified by several UK papers as Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, a 23-year-old failed rapper who left London and joined the radical ISIS militants in 2013.
The man's father, Adel Abdul Bary, 54, pleaded guilty last week in Manhattan Federal Court to conspiring to kill Americans and participating in a 1990s terror attack that killed 224 people.
Other suspects include Razul Islam, 21, and 30-year-old Aine Davis.
The three British militants are known to their captives as the 'Killer Beatles' for their country of origin.
Obama has condemned the killings, which helped spark the decision for the United States to begin air strikes against the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria.
sgoldstein@nydailynews.com
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