SAS in high-tech hunt for Jihadi John: 'Significant force' of elite UK troops on the ground as MI5 identify James Foley's sickening killer
British Special Forces hunting the killer of James Foley are
using an array of sophisticated equipment to track him down - and
possibly free other hostages being held.
The Mail on Sunday has been given a detailed account of how elite troops from the SAS and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) are conducting hi
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The Mail on Sunday has been given a detailed account of how elite troops from the SAS and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) are conducting hi
SAS in high-tech hunt for Jihadi John: 'Significant force' of elite UK troops on the ground as MI5 identify James Foley's sickening killer
- The SAS and Special Reconnaissance Regiment have been deployed to Iraq
- The elite soldiers have been tasked to hunt down Isis terrorist 'Jihad John'
- A range of high-tech surveillance tools are being used to narrow the search
British
Special Forces hunting the killer of James Foley are using an array of
sophisticated equipment to track him down – and possibly free other
hostages being held.
The
Mail on Sunday has been given a detailed account of how elite troops
from the SAS and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) are
conducting high-tech operations inside Syria and Iraq, which could lead
to the capture of the extremists within days.
It
emerged as reports suggested that British intelligence services had
identified the true identity of the terrorist who beheaded Mr Foley –
as seen in a video which shocked the world - known as 'Jihadi John'.
Scroll down for video
The SAS team tasked with hunting down the ISIS terrorists will use hand-launched surveillance drones
Elite force: The SAS are experts in
desert warfare having conducted operations in the Middle East for
decades. Pictured are a heavily armed British Special Forces patrol in
Afghanistan in 2001
The
Mail on Sunday has been told that in the past 48 hours a ‘significant
force’ of SAS soldiers and signallers have deployed to northern Iraq,
joining Iraqi and Kurdish units fighting IS.
They
have separated into four-man teams and are accompanying local troops in
an attempt to capture British jihadis, identify them and establish
links to Jihadi John.
A
key suspect is 23-year-old Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, who until a year ago
lived with his family in their £1m home in the affluent London area of
Maida Vale, but recently appeared on social media grasping a severed
head, an anonymous government source told The Sunday Times.
Once
a British jihadi is in custody, samples will be taken of the suspect’s
blood and DNA – vital in the case of UK extremists because the
information can be matched to medical records. For identification
purposes, a photograph is also taken of the iris – the visible coloured
ring around the pupil – which is unique.
One
SAS source said: ‘It is possible to identify British jihadis on the
battlefield by intercepting their radio messages. When they’re captured
by the Iraqis or Kurds we’ll take a close interest in their questioning.
‘Gathering
information such as their blood group and DNA, as well as voice
recordings in either Arabic or English, will help us zero in on Jihadi
John because it can be compared with existing data.’
Public Enemy Number 1: The SAS have been ordered to find out the British born terrorist 'Jihad John'
From
the battleground this information is sent via a portable satellite
manned by a soldier from 264 (SAS) Signal Squadron, who beams it to a
spy plane, such as the ‘Rivet Joint’ aircraft, circling overhead.
Inside
Rivet Joint, a 17-man team processes the information and sends it back
to GCHQ, the Government’s secret communications headquarters at
Cheltenham. Here it is analysed and matched against records of British
jihadis believed to be fighting in Syria and Iraq, before ‘feedback
information’ is sent to SAS teams.
GCHQ’s
library is believed to include recordings of thousands of voices taken
from phone and radio intercepts. Meanwhile, on the Turkish-Syrian
border, SRR soldiers fly drones into IS strongholds and give live
details of their movements.
Such
a detailed study of their bases is intended to prevent a repeat of the
US Special Forces mission last month which failed to find any hostages.
American Delta Force troops raided an IS base at Uqayrishah in northern
Syria, but were forced to retreat after a gun battle with terrorists.
The
SRR’s drones can fly for up to 24 hours, climbing to an altitude of
more than 18,000ft. From here they are able to survey hundreds of miles
of territory occupied by IS fighters, including the city of Raqqa, where
it is believed several Western hostages have been held.
Intelligence gathered will be used in the planning stages ahead of any incursion by SRR troops into Syria.
A
source added: ‘The SRR is using strategic drones, which provide an
overview of the ground, and tactical drones which can look over the
walls of buildings and provide sharp pictures of suspects’ faces.
‘The
ground inside Syria and Iraq is well known to British Special Forces
after the previous Gulf wars. In 2008, the SAS destroyed the Al
Qaeda-Iraq leadership and we’re confident we can do the same to IS.’
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: ‘We do not comment on Special Forces operations.’
The SAS are using a range of high tech surveillance techniques on the hunt for 'Jihad John' and his friends
James's last letter... I'll be home for sister's wedding
By Caroline Graham
James Foley’s last loving message to his family was memorised by a fellow hostage, The Mail on Sunday has learned.
Danish
photojournalist Daniel Rye Ottosen, 25, spent 13 months imprisoned
alongside Foley and painstakingly committed to memory a lengthy final
letter in which the American spoke hopefully about being freed in time
to celebrate his sister’s wedding next year.
When Ottosen was released in June, his first call was to Foley’s mum Diane, when he dictated the lengthy letter to her.
His
act of love and courage was revealed by the Foley family’s priest of 30
years, Father Marc Montminy, who said: ‘Jim was never allowed to send a
letter like the other hostages because he was an American. Jim related
the letter to the Danish hostage and he memorised it.
James Foley, pictured, vowed to a fellow hostage that he would make it home to his sister's wedding
‘Jim
mentioned every family member and how much he loved them. He mentioned
his mother, his father and his grandmother, who he was very close to.
‘He mentioned his brothers and his sisters and his nieces and nephews.
‘He
said he loved them all and he knew they loved him and were praying for
him and fighting for his release. He ended on a hopeful note by saying
he’d be there for [Foley’s sister] Katie’s wedding.
‘She had just got engaged when he left for Syria so he must always have had hope he would come home.’
James’s
mother Diane flew to Copenhagen the week before her son was executed to
meet with Ottosen, according to the boss of the Boston-based online
news organisation Foley was working for when he was snatched in November
2012.
Phil
Balboni, CEO of GlobalPost, told how Diane developed a ‘close bond’
with the families of other hostages still in captivity and met up with
released hostages from France and Spain who had been held by the same
group of British jihadis dubbed The Beatles.
‘She
went to Copenhagen to meet with the Danish journalist who memorised the
letter. He provided new details of his time with Jim. All of the
released hostages spoke of Jim’s courage. He was subjected to the most
abuse and torture because he was American but they never broke his
spirit.
‘Diane
has become extremely close to the families of other Western hostages
who are still in captivity. They share a special and very close bond.’
James Foley, pictured, was murdered by a masked ISIS terrorist with a British accent called 'Jihad John'
Balboni
described Diane as ‘a woman on a mission’ to save her son from the
moment the first email arrived from his captors on November 26, 2013.
‘The
email was sent to me and to Jim’s brother Michael. It was brief. It
said “We’re holding James. We’re prepared to negotiate for his release.
We need money – FAST.”
‘They had all of Jim’s cellphone contacts which is how they got our email addresses.
‘There
were more emails, five or six in all. They gave us the opportunity to
ask proof-of-life questions, obscure family references impossible for
anyone but Jim to answer. That was in early December, 2013. We felt
great hope.’
In one email, the terrorists made their sole demand – for £80 million and the release of Muslim prisoners held by the US.
Balboni said the family had raised almost £3 million in ransom money. But then the terrorists stopped communicating.
After
months of silence, the Foleys received a final email, dated August 12 –
a hate-filled rant full of rudimentary spelling errors in which the
jihadis vowed to execute Foley saying ‘You (America) and your citizens
will pay the price of your bombings!
‘The
first of which being the blood of the American citizen James Foley! He
will be executed as a DIRECT result of your transgressions towards us!’
The email may have been written by ‘John’, the British jihadi who beheaded Foley, reports claim.
A
memorial service for James Foley will take place today at the family’s
church, Holy Rosary, near their home in Rochester, New Hampshire.
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