Jihadi John

Jihadi John was the media nickname of Mohammed Emwazi, a British Islamic State militant who appeared in videos depicting the execution of hostages.

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Mohammed Emwazi: A British Islamic State militant identified by authorities and journalists as Jihadi John. This is the name behind the nickname.
Islamic State: A jihadist organization that controlled territory in Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate in 2014. Emwazi acted within the organization whose videos made him notorious.
Islamic State propaganda: Media produced by Islamic State to recruit supporters, intimidate enemies, and promote its political claims. The execution videos used Emwazi’s image to amplify the group’s threats.
Jihadism: A political ideology that advocates armed struggle in the name of an interpretation of Islam. The term names the broader ideological category, not Emwazi’s individual identity.
James Foley: An American journalist abducted in Syria and killed by Islamic State in 2014. Foley was the first hostage shown executed in a video featuring Emwazi.
The Beatles (Islamic State hostage cell): A group of English-speaking Islamic State members who guarded and abused foreign hostages in Syria. Emwazi was identified as one member of this hostage-taking cell.
Hostage-taking: The seizure and detention of people to compel action or gain leverage. The crimes associated with Emwazi formed part of Islamic State’s hostage strategy.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: The leader of Islamic State from 2010 until his death in 2019. Unlike its leader, Emwazi became known chiefly through hostage videos.
Steven Sotloff: An American journalist abducted in Syria and killed by Islamic State in 2014. Sotloff appeared in a subsequent execution video attributed to Emwazi.
Islamic State beheading videos: Propaganda recordings in which Islamic State depicted the killing of captured hostages. These recordings introduced the masked figure known as Jihadi John.