‘Jihadi John’: The Islamic State killer behind the mask is a 'limey' from London.

‘Jihadi John’: The Islamic State killer behind the mask is a 'limey' from London. (Wapo).

The world knows him as “Jihadi John,” the masked man with a British accent who has beheaded several hostages held by the Islamic State and who taunts audiences in videos circulated widely online.

But his real name, according to friends and others familiar with his case, is Mohammed Emwazi, a Briton from a well-to-do family who grew up in West London and graduated from college with a degree in computer programming.

He is believed to have traveled to Syria around 2012 and to have later joined the Islamic State, the group whose barbarity he has come to symbolize.

“I have no doubt that Mohammed is Jihadi John,” said one of Emwazi’s close friends who identified him in an interview with The Washington Post. “He was like a brother to me. . . . I am sure it is him.” Hmmm.....Nice 'people' roaming the streets of 'Londonistan'. Read the full story here.

So, Asim Qureshi of the CAGE is a friend of Mohammed Emwazi. How surprising. #JihadiJohn

— Lompe (@Lompemann) February 26, 2015

Jihadi John is middle class & educated, demonstrates again that radicalisation is not necessarily driven by poverty or social deprivation.

— Shiraz Maher (@ShirazMaher) February 26, 2015

#JihadiJohn: Here's one of the court documents that includes Emwazi, the man known to be the #ISIS militant pic.twitter.com/DHiT8sqds3 #Kuwait

— Dr Shahid (@DR_SHAHID) February 26, 2015