Isis: one of the Beatles confessed to beheading hostages

Alexanda Kotey, 37, pleaded guilty to federal charges of hostage-taking resulting in death, conspiracy to commit murders against U.S. citizens abroad, and conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

He confessed in federal court in Alexandria to having participated in the kidnappings and deaths of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.

The three men were beheaded on camera in videos posted online. The circumstances of Mueller’s death remain unclear.

The four traveled to Syria, friends and family said, out of an intense desire to help, whether covering the war there or helping those displaced by the conflict. .

Kotey’s guilty plea marks the first time that an Islamic State operative has been held accountable in a US court for these murders. He faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.

In return for his confession of guilt and promised cooperation, prosecutors agreed that after Kotey served 15 years in a US prison he could try to serve the remainder of his sentence in the UK, where he was born. . If that happens, Kotey also agreed that he would plead guilty in a UK trial and receive a life sentence there, and would be returned to the US if released by the UK. United.

Kotey was captured in Syria in 2018 along with El Shafee Elsheikh, another accused Islamic State activist who is awaiting trial in the case, and taken to the United States in October.