US forces have carried out air strikes targeting the British Islamic State militant known as “Jihadi John”, the Pentagon has said.
Mohammed Emwazi, the Kuwaiti-born British militant, was the target of an attack near Raqqa, in Syria.
A worldwide hunt was launched for Emwazi after he was seen in videos of the beheadings of Western hostages.
The Pentagon said it was still assessing whether Emwazi had been killed in the attack or not.
“We are assessing the results of tonight’s operation and will provide additional information as and where appropriate”, says Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook.
Emwazi first appeared in a video in August last year, when footage was posted online showing the murder of US journalist James Foley.
He was later pictured in the videos of the beheadings of US journalist Steven Sotloff, British aid worker David Haines and UK taxi driver Alan Henning, as well as American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter, and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto.
