Identity of IS militant "Jihadi John" revealed

The infamously black-clad English-speaking militant, aka "Jihadi John," who has played a vital role in the extremist group Islamic State's propaganda machine and appeared in beheading videos, was identified as a middle-class Briton born in Kuwait, according to U.S. media reports.

U.S. daily The Washington Post disclosed Thursday that the man' s real name was Mohammed Emwazi, a computer-programming graduate who came from an affluent family in West London. He was believed to have traveled to Syria around 2012 to joined the IS during the group's infancy.

The man gained the moniker of "Jihadi John" after appearing in a video about beheading of American journalist James Foley last August. He has also appeared in other videos documenting the appalling beheadings of other IS hostages, some of whom he had personally executed.

In last September, one month after Foley's execution, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials said they succeeded in identifying who "Jihadi John" was. The agency, however, has kept his identity in secrecy. Endite