US ‘Reasonably Certain’ Drone Strike Killed Jihadi John

ISIS Figure Was Targeted Near Raqqa

Following last night’s reports that the US targeted Mohammed Emwazi, the notorious British ISIS figure known as “Jihadi John,” US officials are now claiming to be “reasonably certain” that he was killed in the drone strike.

The strike, which targeted a vehicle outside of Raqqa which the Pentagon believed Emwazi to be within, has since been confirmed to have killed everyone inside. Army spokesman Col. Steven Warren went on to declare Emwazi a “human animal” and that his killing makes the world better.

The masked Jihadi John made high-profile appearances in several ISIS videos, though his actual position within ISIS itself was unclear. His recognizability, however, makes his death a high-profile achievement for a US campaign which has accomplished very little in Iraq or Syria so far.

British Prime Minister David Cameron praised the attack on Emwazi, a British national, as an “act of self-defense” that would “strike at the heart of ISIS.” Historically, however, ISIS has been extremely successful in replacing slain figures with new recruits without skipping a beat.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.