This afternoon at FBI headquarters, James Comey told reporters that he believes the FBI has identified the Brittish-accented hostage executioner from the excruciating videos of the beheadings of two journalists and an aid worker.
Acording to The Wire, "Jihadi John" was known to intelligence officials as a hostage negotiator for a group of British ISIS fighters in Syria.
He was also a guard for hostages in Raqqa. He originally hails from the United Kingdom, likely the London area, based on his accent. One of his former hostages said John is "intelligent, educated and a devout believer in radical Islamic teachings."
While the identity is now known to intelligence officials, it will not be publicly released, presumably as the military works to apprehend him. Though the man will not be named, this is a major step to taking down the terrorist network.
Hopefully this is one step closer to some kind of justice for the families of James Foley, Steven Sotloff and David Haines.