U.S. counter terrorism officials have told of the moment Jihadi John was killed with a 'flawless' drone missile strike the moment he stepped into a car in ISIS's de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria.

Pentagon officials are '99 per cent' sure that the world's most wanted man, who was eventually unmasked as Mohammed Emwazi, was 'evaporated' near a clock tower where ISIS staged public executions.

Colonel Steven Warren said Emwazi, 27, who beheaded several Western hostages on camera in ISIS propaganda videos, was 'a human animal and killing him is probably making the world a little bit better place'.

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The British ISIS militant, whose real name is Mohammed Emwazi, carried out a number of beheadings of Western hostages in Syria. He is believed to have been killed in a U.S drone strike

This annotated image posted online by anti-ISIS activists Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently claims to show where Emwazi is believed to have been killed (circled), just yards from the group's headquarters in Raqqa

Mohammed Emwazi was blitzed by a missile fired from a drone which is thought to have been controlled by U.S. air force pilots sitting in a control centre thousands of miles away

Bethany Haines, 18, the daughter of one of his British victims, David Haines, today told how she felt 'an instant sense of relief' after hearing reports of his death, having previously said she would only have closure 'once there's a bullet between his eyes'.

But Stuart Henning, the nephew of British aid worker Alan Henning, who was also butchered by Emwazi, said he had mixed feelings because he had 'wanted the coward behind the mask to suffer'.

A senior US defence official had earlier told Fox News: 'We are 99 per cent sure we got him. We were on him for some time.'

'He walked out of a building and got in the car. We struck it right after with zero collateral damage,' a counter-terrorism official said. 'The vehicle was on fire. It was a 100 per cent flawless, direct hit.'

The drone is thought to have taken off from the Incirilik airbase in southern Turkey. The base, which is just outside the town of Adana, is around 30 miles from the border with Syria and 200 miles from the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa.

It was thought to have been piloted from 7,000 miles away from the Creech Air Force base, Nevada,

Colonel Warren said they are 'reasonably certain' that they had killed Emwazi, who was the only 'high value' target in the mission but a driver may also have been killed.

He said formal confirmation would take time but they had 'great confidence that this individual was Jihadi John'.

Colonel Warren added: 'We know for a fact that the weapons system hit its intended target, and that the personnel who were on the receiving end of that weapons system were in fact killed.

'There were no other high value individuals. Jihadi John did have a worst best friend with him who is also now dead.'

ISIS fanatics are claiming he survived the attack, with eyewitnesses telling Sky News he was taken badly injured to hospital which has been placed in lockdown by the Sunni fanatics.

Emwazi has been the subject of an international manhunt for more than a year after he first appeared in a chilling execution video in August last year.

He topped the UK Government's 'kill list' of up to a dozen radicals who they wanted dead and David Cameron today said Britain had been working 'hand in glove' with the U.S. to track him down.

The British Prime Minister welcomed reports of the killing which he called an 'act of self defence'.

He stopped short of confirming that Emwazi - who he branded a 'barbaric murderer' - was dead but said the targeted attack was 'the right thing to do'.

There is a high possibility British spies were operating on the ground in Raqqa to help identify Emwazi before the strike and may now be trying to collect DNA evidence to prove his death.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Emwazi's role in ISIS propaganda videos used to radicalise people meant he was a 'target worth going after'.

He added: 'Emwazi was an ISIL [ISIS] leader, he was a strategist for that organisation, he was intimately involved in the effort by ISIL to recruit individuals to their cause.

Symbolic: Anti-ISIS activist group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently said Emwazi was thought to have been hit near a clock tower (above) in the city centre where ISIS has carried a number of public executions

A video released by the terror group shows a man being crucified near the clock tower in the centre of Raqqa

'His ability to use social media to inspire and radicalise people around the globe meant that he was making a valuable contribution to ISIL'

Asked about Mr Cameron's description of the strike as 'self defence', Mr Earnest said: 'The role that Mr Emwazi has played in radicalising individuals around the world, in inspiring individuals to join their cause made him a threat not just to the region but to countries around the world.'

A senior U.S. official, quoted by CNN, said the drone strike came after 'persistent surveillance' and claimed the authorities were certain it was Emwazi when they fired the missile.

The drone is believed to have been tracking Emwazi for most of the day yesterday and he was 'ID'd and engaged' when he came out of a building and got into a vehicle in Raqqa.

Another senior military source told the BBC there is a 'high degree of certainty' he had been killed.

Anti-ISIS activist group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently (RIBSS), which operates in the Syrian city, reported that Emwazi was killed at around 11.40pm last night and said it counted a further 14 air strikes in just nine minutes between 11.51pm and midnight.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said a car carrying four foreign Islamic State leaders, including one British Jihadi, was hit near the municipality building in the city.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said: 'All the sources there are saying that the body of an important British Jihadi is lying in the hospital of Raqqa. All the sources are saying it is of Jihadi John but I cannot confirm it personally.'

Officials in the US are still trying to determine whether he has been killed, following the drone attacks in Raqqa, Islamic State's capital

RIBSS said Emwazi was thought to have been hit near a symbolic clock tower in the city centre where ISIS has carried a number of public executions.

The strike is also understood to have hit another member of 'The Beatles' – a nickname given to three or four British-sounding ISIS captors who guarded Western hostages, with Jihadi John being a reference to John Lennon.

A second member of the cell – nicknamed 'Jihadi George' after George Harrison – is believed to be London rapper Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary who fled to Syria in 2013.

The former rap star, whose father was a key lieutenant of Osama bin Laden, was among the first foreign fighters to take up arms in the war zone two years ago.

However, it was reported in July he had fled to Turkey after becoming disillusioned with jihadi life.

Another one of Emwazi's associates, Aine Lesley Davis, has been arrested by Turkish authorities, two officials said today.

HOW PILOTS SITTING IN NEVADA 'EVAPORATED' JIHADI JOHN IN SYRIA The United States deployed Reaper drones carrying Hellfire missiles in August to Incirlik Air Force Base in Southern Turkey. The base, which is just outside the town of Adana is only 30 miles from the Sryian frontier and 200 miles from the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa. The Reaper drones are controlled by US Air Force pilots in Creech Air Force Base outside Las Vegas in Nevada – more than 7,000 miles from the conflict zone. The unmanned aircraft are controlled via satellites, which stream real-time pictures back to the pilot in the United States. According to the US Department of Defence, the MQ-9 Reaper drone 'is designed to execute time-sensitive targets with persistence and precision'. Pentagon Press secretary Peter Cook said: 'US forces conducted an air strike in Raqqa, Syria, on November 12, 2015 targeting Mohamed Emwazi, also known as 'Jihadi John' (file photo) It has a range of about 1,150 miles and can fly at 230mph up to a height of approximately 50,000 feet. The aircraft has the ability to linger over its target for up to 24 hours. It can carry AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, GBU-12 Paveway II and GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack munitions. The killer has been a priority target for both British and American authorities who have been intercepting thousands of phone calls, emails and other electronic communications in a bid to identify his location. Once he was spotted entering his car in the ISIS stronghold of Al-Raqqa, a decision was made to target him with a £44,000 Hellfire missile which vaporised him moments later. Advertisement

The former tube driver from Hammersmith, London, who travelled to Syria in 2013, was said to be one of the British extremists who were assigned to guard foreign prisoners in Syria.

Turkish authorities declined to give further details because investigations by police and intelligence agencies were ongoing.

Confirming the drone strike which killed Emwazi, Pentagon Press secretary Peter Cook said: 'US forces conducted an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, on November 12, 2015 targeting Mohamed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John.

'We are assessing the results of tonight's operation and will provide additional information as and where appropriate.'

Emwazi was involved in the murders of British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, U.S. journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig (also known as Peter Kassig).

KILLING 'BARBARIC MURDERER' WAS 'RIGHT THING TO DO' SAYS CAMERON – BUT CORBYN INSISTS JIHADI JOHN SHOULD HAVE BEEN CAPTURED ALIVE 'Right thing to do': Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed reports of the killing which he called an 'act of self defence' but stopped short of confirming that Emwazi - who he branded a 'barbaric murderer' - was dead David Cameron has welcomed the reported killing of Jihadi John, calling the attack an 'act of self defence'. The Prime Minister stopped short of confirming the death of Mohammed Emwazi - who he branded a 'barbaric murderer' - but said the targeted strike was 'the right thing to do'. Mr Cameron said Britain had been working 'hand in glove' round the clock with its closest ally the US to track down and target the militant executioner, who has killed a number of ISIS hostages, including Britons Alan Henning and David Haines. He called it a 'strike at the heart' of terror group ISIS. In a statement outside 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister said that Emwazi had remained a threat to innocent people, including those in the UK. He said: 'I have always said that we would do whatever was necessary, whatever it took, to track down Emwazi and stop him taking the lives of others. 'We have been working, with the United States, literally around the clock to track him down. 'This was a combined effort. And the contribution of both our countries was essential.' Mr Cameron added: 'Emwazi is a barbaric murderer. He posed an ongoing and serious threat to innocent civilians not only in Syria, but around the world, and in the United Kingdom too. 'He was ISIL's lead executioner and let us never forget that he killed many, many, Muslims too. 'And he was intent on murdering many more people. So this was an act of self-defence. It was the right thing to do.' However, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn hit back at Mr Cameron, saying it would have been 'far better' to capture Emwazi alive and put him on trial. Mr Corbyn said in a statement: 'We await identification of the person targeted in last night's US air attack in Syria. 'It appears Mohammed Emwazi has been held to account for his callous and brutal crimes. 'However, it would have been far better for us all if he had been held to account in a court of law. 'These events only underline the necessity of accelerating international efforts, under the auspices of the UN, to bring an end to the Syrian conflict as part of a comprehensive regional settlement.' Advertisement

They were followed by Japanese journalist Kenji Goto and Japanese businessman Haruna Yukawa, who were killed in January.

Mr Haines, an aid worker from Scotland, was executed in September last year, having been held captive for 18 months.

His daughter, Bethany, told ITV News: 'After seeing the news that Jihadi John was killed I felt an instant sense of relief'

But she added: 'As much as I wanted him dead, I also wanted answers as to why he did it, why my dad, how did it make a difference.'

Previously she said she felt families of Emwazi's victims would only feel closure 'once there's a bullet between (his) eyes'.

A video released a month later showed 47-year-old Salford taxi driver Mr Henning appearing to be beheaded.

Detained: Another one of Emwazi's associates, Aine Lesley Davis (left), was arrested by Turkish authorities, two officials said today

An aerial view of explosions at a fortified position in what Russia says was an ISIS ammunition depot in Syria. ISIS executioner Jihadi John is believed to have been killed in a similar strike by a U.S. drone

His daughter Lucy said she found out he had been killed when she saw an image posted on social media site Instagram.

Meanwhile, writing on Twitter, Mr Henning's nephew, Stuart, said: 'Mixed feelings today wanted the coward behind the mask to suffer the way Alan and his friends did but also glad (he's) been destroyed.'

Mr Henning's brother, Reg Henning, told ITV News that he hoped it was 'the end of it' but 'would have preferred him to face justice'.

He added: 'I think things will quieten down. If they had arrested him and gone to court, it would have dragged on for months and months.'

A British campaign group which sparked controversy after it described Jihadi John as a 'beautiful young man' has said the terrorist should have been tried as a war criminal and not killed.

In a statement today, Cage said the Briton's reported killing 'presents more questions than it does answers', adding: 'State-sponsored targeted assassinations undercut the judicial processes that provide the lessons by which spirals of violence can be stopped.'

JIHADI JOHN: LONDON BOY TO 'COLD, SADISTIC AND MERCILESS KILLER' Mohammed Emwazi was six years old when his family moved to London. He grew up in North Kensington, a leafy middle-class area where a network of Islamist extremists was uncovered in recent years. As a child he was a fan of Manchester United football club and the band S Club 7, according to a 1996 school year book published by The Sun. His former headteacher at Quintin Kynaston Community Academy in the north of the city recalled a 'hard-working aspirational young man'. She said he had been bullied at school but insisted she was not aware of any radicalisation of pupils there. Emwazi aged around seven (left) at St Mary Magdalene CE Primary School in Maida Vale, London, and aged 15 (right), in the playground of Qunitin Kynaston Academy in North London, in May 2004 He later went on to study information technology at the University of Westminster. Emwazi went on to work with an IT firm in Kuwait during a stint in the Gulf and was described by a former boss as 'the best employee we ever had' and a 'calm and decent' person. Claims earlier this year by campaign group Cage that he was harassed by British security services, driving him to extremism, were branded 'reprehensible' by Downing Street. He was known to intelligence services in the UK since at least 2009 and had been on a list of potential terror suspects. Journalists knock on doors at a residential address where Kuwaiti-born London computer programmer Mohammed Emwazi is once believed to have lived After Emwazi was identified as the man in the videos Cage director Asim Qureshi, who had been a former confidant, controversially described him as a 'beautiful young man'. Last month Cage admitted it made mistakes in its handling of the issue, but added that they believed their intervention had made an 'important contribution to the debates around security services' accountability'. Court papers published by British media connected Emwazi to a network of extremists known as 'The London Boys' that were originally trained by al-Shabab, Al-Qaeda's East Africa affiliate. One hostage who fell under Emwazi's control in the ISIS group's hub in Raqa talked of a 'cold, sadistic and merciless' killer. Advertisement

Raffaello Pantucci, director of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute, said if confirmed, Emwazi's death would make little strategic difference and could create a 'martyr culture' around him.

'It's more a symbolic strike, he said. 'Tactically it's not really going to change anything for the group.'

But Charlie Winter, a British academic from the Quilliam Foundation which focuses on ISIS activities, said it could be a 'big blow'.

'Symbolically it's really important. Jihadi John... was someone who was a source of hubris, a sort of an aspirational figure for fighters in Islamic State,' he said.

'He was a key figure of defiance in the face of the international coalition, so if in fact he has been killed, this is going to be a big blow.'

However, one of Emwazi's former neighbours in London today said he should have been captured, interrogated and made to face trial rather than being killed.

James Beker, 47, who lives above the Emwazi family in West Kilburn, west London, said the ISIS killer would have had vital information that could have kept Britain safe from attack.

Emwazi hunted for over a year after he first appeared in a beheading video in August 2014

WAS THE DECISION TO BLOW UP JIHADI JOHN IN A DRONE ATTACK LEGAL? WHAT DOES THE LAW ALLOW? Downing Street cites article 51 of the United Nations charter, which states that countries have a right to defend themselves in the event of an 'armed attack'. Britain also argues that Syria is lawless and has no forces on the ground who could apprehend Jihadi John and arrest him. The debate may focus on the extent to which Jihadi John - living 3,000 miles away in Syria - posed a direct threat to Britain - although the PM argued he posed a threat to the UK and the wider world. Announcing his part in the drone attack, the Prime Minister described Emwazi as 'lead executioner' of ISIS and said that he was 'intent on murdering many more people'. This is his defence and he will have had legal advice to that end. Mr Cameron said: 'If this strike was successful - and we still await confirmation of that - it will be a strike at the heart of Isil. 'And it will demonstrate to those who would do Britain, our people and our allies harm, we have a long reach, we have an unwavering determination, and we never forget our citizens.' When terrorist Reyaad Khan was killed in a drone attack this year Mr Cameron said he was also 'directing murder on our streets' and there was 'no other means to stop him'. Have other Britons been killed in drone strikes? Yes. At least 11 have now been killed by UK and US drones and it could be as many as 20. The minimum tally includes Emwazi, if confirmed, as well as Khan and Ruhul Amin, who was travelling in the same vehicle. Eight have been killed by US drone strikes in Pakistan and Somalia, including Rashid Rauf, who had links to the 7/7 atrocity. Advertisement

The father-of-three said: 'I feel sorry he has been killed in this way. They should have put him on trial and interrogated him for information.

'They might have got information that we need for the safety of our country and find out why did he do that.

'They said he was intelligent so how did he turn evil? He turned into not really a beast but a monster.'

Emwazi appeared in the videos dressed in black with only his eves visible, and spoke with a British accent as he went on anti-western rants to the camera while wielding a knife.

It was not until February this year that the jihadist was unmasked as Kuwaiti-born Emwazi, who lived in the UK since the age of six.

It emerged that Emwazi had been known to British intelligence services, but managed to travel to Syria in 2013.

In the videos, the tall masked figure was clad in black and speaking in a British accent.

He began one of the gruesome videos with a political rant and a kneeling hostage before him, then ended it holding a large knife in his hand with the headless victim lying before him in the sand.

Journalist Sotloff's mother, Shirley Sotloff was unaware of the air strikes, but said Emwazi's death would not bring closure.

She told NBC News: 'If they got him great. But it doesn't bring my son back.'

Diane Foley, the mother of James Foley, who previously said she had forgiven Emwazi, told ABC News: 'This huge effort to go after this deranged man filled with hate when they can't make half that effort to save the hostages while these young Americans were still alive.'

THE ISIS HOSTAGES WHO WERE KILLED IN JIHADI JOHN'S MURDER VIDEOS Mohammed Emwazi was involved in the murders of British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, American journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig (also known as Peter Kassig) and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. In the videos, the tall masked figure was clad in black and speaking in a British accent. He began one of the gruesome videos with a political rant and a kneeling hostage before him, then ended it holding a large knife in his hand with the headless victim lying before him in the sand. Alan Henning (left) was a Salford taxi driver, who volunteered as an aid worker and David Haines (right) turned to humanitarian aid after a career in the RAF Alan Henning was a Salford taxi driver, who volunteered as an aid worker in Syria in 2013, after being deeply affected by the plight of orphan children in the war-torn country. The 47-year-old was kidnapped and held hostage for 10 months. Despite worldwide appeals and calls for mercy by his family the terror group released a video in October last year, of him kneeling in an orange jump-suit in the desert as he was beheaded by Jihadi John. David Haines was a former RAF aircraft engineer, from Perth, who turned to humanitarian aid in 1999. He was kidnapped in March 2013 and was subject to a failed rescue mission by American forces in July 2014. A video of the lead up and aftermath of Haines' beheading, entitled 'A Message to the Allies of America', was released by ISIS in September last year. At the end of the video Emwazi said to the camera: 'If you, (David) Cameron, insist on fighting the Islamic State then you, like your master (Barack) Obama, will have the blood of your people on your hands.' Steven Sotloff (left) was an American-Israeli journalist who was kidnapped by ISIS militants in Aleppo, Syria, in August 2013, after the kidnapping of James Foley (right) Steven Sotloff was an American-Israeli journalist who was kidnapped by ISIS militants in Aleppo, Syria, in August 2013. A video of his death was also released in September last year, sparking President Obama to come and warn ISIS that the US will take action to 'degrade and destroy' them. James Foley was reporting on the Syrian civil war as a freelance journalist when he was abducted three years ago. His captors spent months trying to negotiate a deal with US authorities, his employers and his family, demanding 130million euros for his release. He was subjected to many mock executions, tortures and beatings during his time in captivity, before he appeared in an ISIS murder video in 2014. Abdul-Rahman Kassig (left) and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto (right) were both killed in Jihadi John's videos Former US army ranger Abdul-Rahman Kassig (also known as Peter Kassig) was 26 years old when he was beheaded. He had been doing aid work in Lebanon and Syria when he was captured, while on his way to deliver food to refugees in Eastern Syria. He converted to Islam while in captivity and changed his name to Abdul-Rahman in December 2013. In October last year ISIS released a video which showed Kassig being killed. Japanese journalist Kenji Goto appeared in an ISIS video in January, where Jihadi Johnproclaimed to Japanese prime minister: 'Because of your reckless decision to take part in an unwinnable war, this knife will not only slaughter Kenji, but will also carry on and cause carnage wherever your people are found. So let the nightmare for Japan begin.' Advertisement

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: 'We are aware of the US statement about the air strike targeting Mohamed Emwazi. Like them, we are not commenting further at this stage.'

In September the MailOnline revealed that Emwazi had a crippling fear of being killed in a drone attack and shielded himself behind civilians in the hope it will stop him being targeted.

Two visitors to ISIS territory described how he and his depraved cohorts fled onto a football pitch packed with civilians in a desperate attempt to dodge a drone attack.

Emwazi emigrated with his family to London in 1994, aged six. He attended Qunitin Kynaston Academy and then went on to study computer programming at the University of Westminster, graduating in 2009.

He was reported missing in August 2013 and it was confirmed in December that year that he had travelled to Syria.

He had been known to MI5 and was detained a number of times in 2009, but never charged.

It was believed that he had been a member terrorist supporters and was in contact with one of the men involved in the London 7/7 bombings in 2005, two weeks after the attacks which killed 52 people.

'He didn't deserve to die so easily': Wife of murdered hostage David Haines says she wishes Jihadi John had been taken alive so he could look her in the eyes in court



