Reuters"/>"Jihadi John," the Islamic State's most infamous executioner, has appeared in an ominous new video where he vows to return to the United Kingdom and continue beheading nonbelievers.
The video, which was first obtained by the Daily Mail, shows "Jihadi John" - also known as Mohammed Emwazi - with his face uncovered for the first time. The video is believed to have been shot in June in the ISIS-controlled Syrian town of Deir Ezzor.
Dressed in black and wearing a cap underneath his hood, the video shows Emwazi staring into the camera before he looks off toward the desert, stating that he will continue to behead people.
"He looks at the camera and says, 'I am Mohammed Emwazi. I will soon go back to Britain with the Khalifa" [the leader of Islamic State],'" an FSA-linked activist in Istanbul told the Daily Mail.
Emwazi is believed to have further stated in his British accent: "I will carry on cutting heads."
"He said something more about cutting heads off: 'We will kill the kuffar [Arabic term for non-Muslims],'" the unnamed activist explained. "Then the camera shows two masked men that looked like bodyguards."
A facial mapping expert told the Daily Mail that the man in the footage is likely Jihadi John, as they share "apparent similarities in both morphological and proportional comparisons."
Since August 2014, Emwazi has appeared in seven videos released by the Islamic State. He is known for beheading seven foreigners taking hostage by the terrorist group, including American journalists and British aid workers. He was last seen in a video in January where he beheaded Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, leading to a $9.4 million bounty being placed on his head.
While Emwazi is likely still in contact with the jihadist group, The Daily Mail notes that the poor quality of the latest video suggests that he no longer has access to the production equipment used to film his beheading videos.
The new video also contradicts widespread reports from late July which claimed that the violent militant was fearing for his life. It was reported that since Jihadi John's identity was revealed as Emwazi, ISIS leadership didn't see a purpose for him anymore and thus sought to kill him.
Emwazi, who is a former Westminster University student, was a member of a network in contact with one of the men convicted of trying to bomb the British capital's underground railway in 2005, the Huffington Post notes.
He is also responsible for the deaths of Americans Steven Sotloff, James Foley and Peter Kassig, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, and the execution of 17 Syrian soldiers.
