The Islamic State executioner known as Jihadi John has allegedly fled the militant group’s territory and gone on the run in Syria.
Sources told British newspaper The Mirror that Mohammed Emwazi was terrified by the publicity he received after he was identified as the murderer of British and American hostages in some of the militant group’s videos and feared he was being hunted down.
The newspaper reported that the British radical is on the run because he is afraid he is no longer valuable to the Islamic State group.
British and American special operations forces are in Iraq and Syria with the objective to find the 26-year-old Londoner dead or alive, The Mirror reported.
Mr. Emwazi may have joined a less well-known jihadist group somewhere in Syria to hide from the forces searching for him across the Middle East.
He is wanted for the murders of journalists and aid workers Stephen Sotloff, James Foley, David Haines, Alan Henning and Peter Kassig. Some of the killings were filmed and posted online by the terrorist group.
Mr. Emwazi used Islamic State propaganda videos to threaten world leaders from behind a black mask, speaking perfect English with a London accent.
A source told The Mirror that Islamic State killers would drop Mr. Emwazi “like a stone or worse” if they feel he is no longer of any use to them.
“So it is possible he will end up suffering the same fate as his victims,” the source said.
According to the Times of Israel, Mr. Emwadi emigrated to the U.K. from his native Kuwait when he was 6 years old.
He has consistently evaded coalition airstrikes by constantly changing his location with his security detail.
Prior to joining the jihadist group, Mr. Emwazi was considered a model student at the University of Westminster, where he studied information systems and business management from 2006 to 2009.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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