Image via YouTube
Australian channel 9News has identified a London rapper suspected of being "Jihadi John" — the masked, British-accented executioner who has appeared in a series of Islamic State beheading videos — as a person they interviewed during the 2011 riots in the capital.The channel released footage of their reporter, Peter Stefanovic, speaking to him in Tottenham, north London.Taking control of the microphone, the man, British rapper Abdel Majed Abdel Bary, said: "Let me tell you something. The police are protecting the police station, they're not protecting the people."A policeman said it out of his own words when I asked him 'why are you here?' He said: 'I'm here to protect the police.'"
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Bary, 23, is known to have traveled to Syria. In August he posted a photo to Twitter of him and a severed head, with the caption: "Chillin' with my homie or what's left of him."Islamic State video claims another US hostage has been beheaded. Read more here.British and American security services are said to know the identity of Jihadi John, though it has not been publicly revealed. Always masked and displaying a British accent, he rose to notoriety after appearing in the beheading videos showing the murders of captives including American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning. He was reportedly injured in a recent US airstrike that killed 10, but at the weekend appeared in IS's latest execution video, showing the killing of US aid worker Abdul-Rahman Peter Kassig.Speaking on Sunday, after the release, British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "horrified by the cold blooded murder [of Abdul-Rahman Kassig]… ISIL have again shown their depravity."US President Barack Obama called the action "pure evil."In a statement posted on Facebook, Kassig's parents — Ed and Paula Kassig — said: "We are heartbroken to learn that our son, Abdul-Rahman Peter Kassig, has lost his life as a result of his love for the Syrian people and his desire to ease their suffering. Our heart also goes out to the families of the Syrians who lost their lives, along with our son. …"We are incredibly proud of our son for living his life according to his humanitarian calling. We will work every day to keep his legacy alive as best we can."Islamic State reportedly minting coins as it struggles to function like an actual state. Read more here.Follow Sally Hayden on Twitter: @sallyhayd