The United States is expected to take custody of the two Londoners who were part of the ISIS beheading gang dubbed 'The Beatles' - but Britain wants assurances it will not seek the death penalty.

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, who were part of the execution cell that included Jihadi John, were detained by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in January.

They were named after the 60s band because of their English accents.

Alexanda Kotey (left) and El Shafee Elsheikh (right), who were part of the execution cell that included Jihadi John, were detained by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in January

Recently, UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said the two men, who have been stripped of British citizenship, should not be allowed to return because they had 'turned their back on British ideas, British values', so the US is expected to eventually take custody of them.

However the Trump administration is holding off on doing so until it figures out how it will handle them, according to several American officials.

The British government also wants the US to provide assurances American prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against Kotey and Elsheikh.

It is threatening to hold back important evidence about them as leverage, officials told the New York Times.

Unnamed US Officials said Kotey and Elsheikh were captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces which were fighting the last remaining pockets of ISIS fighters near the river Euphrates on the Iraq/Syria border (pictured)

The British want the US to prosecute the two men in a civilian court instead of taking them to the Guantánamo Bay wartime prison, the officials said.

Trump recently issued an executive order to keep the Guantánamo prison open, although his administration has not yet taken any new detainees there.

The US military have interrogated the two Londoners for intelligence reasons but it hasn't yet read them Miranda warnings and quizzed them again in the hopes of getting confessions that could be used as evidence in court.

The parents of four Americans who were kidnapped by ISIS and abused in various ways before their killing - Kayla Mueller and three men who were beheaded, James Foley, Steven Sotloff and Peter Kassig - recently wrote an article in The New York Times calling on the US government to prosecute the suspects in civilian court.

They wrote: 'We want the world to know that we agree with the longstanding British government position that it would be a mistake to send killers like these to the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, or to seek the death penalty in court.'

Kotey and Elsheikh took part in brutal ISIS beheadings alongside Mohammed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John

The ringleader of the 'Beatles', Mohammed Emwazi - known as Jihadi John - was killed in an airstrike in 2015 in Syria.

A fourth man, Aine Davis, was convicted of being a member of a terrorist organisation and jailed for seven-and-a-half years at a court in Silivri, Turkey, in May 2017.

The four west Londoners were linked to a string of hostage murders in Iraq and Syria during the bloody Islamist uprising. They also had a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions and crucifixions.

The US government said the group beheaded more than 27 hostages, including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, on camera.

Unnamed US Officials said Kotey and Elsheikh were captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces which were fighting the last remaining pockets of ISIS fighters near the river Euphrates on the Iraq/Syria border.

It added that the men were identified by fingerprints and other biometric means.

According to the State Department, Kotey 'likely engaged in the group's executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding.'

Kotey also acted as an ISIS recruiter and was responsible for recruiting several Brits to join the murderous organisation.

The State Department said 'Elsheikh was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions and crucifixions while serving as an ISIS jailer.'

Aine Davis was also part of the jihadi cell. He was captured in Turkey and was sentenced to seven and a half years in jail in 2017

Former child refugee Elsheikh was a Spice Girls fan from White City in west London.

He supported Queens Park Rangers and worked as a mechanic. He worked in a garage while fixing funfair rides.

He was born in Sudan, but his family fled the country and came to Britain in the early 1990s.

Elsheikh, 29, became heavily influenced by the sermons of a West London imam known for his radical beliefs.

His father, Rashid Sidahmed Elsheikh, a translator living in London, said his son had travelled to Syria to fight for jihadis at the start of 2012. He described his son's radicalisation as 'lightning-fast'.

He said: 'We tried to handle this in a mild, considerate way but before we could do anything, he just left.'

His mother, Maya Elgizouli, said Elsheikh was the middle son of three raised alone by her after the family moved to Britain.

But she said he was affected badly when his eldest brother Khalid was sentenced to ten years in prison for possessing a firearm after the killing of a gang member involved in a dispute with the family.

Elsheikh's younger brother, Mahmoud, was killed fighting for ISIS in Iraq last year after following him to the war zone as a 17-year-old.

Kotey, 34, also a QPR supporter, was from Paddington and raised in a Greek Orthodox family. Neighbours said he was a 'reserved, polite boy'.

Kotey, who is half-Ghanaian and half-Cypriot, converted to Islam after falling in love with a Muslim woman and had two daughters with her.

In January 2017, US authorities named Kotey as a member of the cell and said they had imposed sanctions on him.

Their execution cell included the knife-wielding killer Emwazi - dubbed 'Jihadi John' - who beheaded hostages, including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, on camera.

Emwazi is also believed to have killed the American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, an aid worker.

'John': Man Utd fan who turned into the most reviled man in the world Mohammed Emwazi later became the most reviled man in the world as ISIS's most notorious executioner Jihadi John Kuwaiti born Mohammed Emwazi, became the most reviled man in the world as ISIS's most notorious executioner Jihadi John. However, reports suggest he appeared to embrace British life after moving to the country as a six-year-old in 1993. Neighbours remember a polite, quiet boy who supported Manchester United, wore 'Western clothing' and played football on the affluent streets of west London. He became more religious after moving to Quintin Kynaston Community Academy, a secondary school in St John's Wood, in 1999. But it was only after he won a place studying computing at the University of Westminster that his behaviour began to change. The university has since been linked with several proponents of radical Islam - and Emwazi appeared to have fallen under their sway. He began attending different mosques and was known to associate with Bilal el-Berjawi, who was killed by a drone strike in Somalia four years ago. Emwazi, Alexanda Kotey and Aine Davis all attended the al-Manaar mosque in Labroke Grove, where Kotey emerged as the ring leader. The knife-wielding killer - dubbed 'Jihadi John' - beheaded hostages, including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, on camera. Emwazi is also believed to have killed the American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, an aid worker. Advertisement

'George': Former mechanic who beheaded 27 hostages The fourth and final member of the infamous ISIS execution squad with Jihadi John El Shafee Elsheikh (pictured, as a teen) The third member of the infamous ISIS execution squad with Jihadi John El Shafee Elsheikh. Described as a 'kind and softly spoken' former fairground mechanic, from west London, he turned into a ISIS extremist who was part of the gang that beheaded 27 hostages and tortured many more in Syria. Elsheikh grew up in White City, just a few miles other members of the cell, and his mother said he was radicalised at local mosques within weeks of hearing sermons by infamous hate preacher Hani al-Sibai. He later travelled to Syria in 2012 to fight his holy war, and his younger brother Mahmoud followed him - and was killed fighting in Iraq last year. Elsheikh's identity was confirmed by a former US counter-terrorism official and investigators working to find The Beatles. The terrorist, who lived in Syria with two wives and two young children, has been captured after being hunted by security services on both sides of the Atlantic. His mother, Maha Elgizouli, revealed how the family moved to White City in west London when Elsheikh was just five years old, along with his two brothers. Both of his parents had fled the civil war in Sudan in the 1990s - where they were both members of the Communist Party - but the father, a poet, left the family when Elsheikh was just seven years old. They grew up a few miles from the first of the infamous Beatles group to be exposed, Mohammed Emwazi - who later became known as Jihadi John but was killed in a drone strike in 2015. Advertisement

'Ringo': A 'polite' west London boy who fought for ISIS Alexanda Kotey, said to be a fan of Queens Park Rangers, was also described by neighbours as a 'polite' boy Alexanda Kotey, said to be a fan of Queens Park Rangers, was once described by neighbours as a 'polite' boy. But after he left the UK to join ISIS in Syria, he used social media to continue radicalising young men, an old friend told ITV. They added: 'The way he secretly operated he was a roadman, a gangster. 'He had the skills of influencing people he could see as influential or vulnerable so they could bring their friends in. 'They would have used the same tactics as gangs to recruit people. Like grooming, he gave them a sense of belonging. 'They couldn't get job or uni course they wanted. 'Through remote network and services, he would have people he delegated responsibility to. They could have helped and advise them on how to get to Syria.' Father-of-two Kotey, who is half Ghanaian, half Greek Cypriot, is believed to have been one of ISIS' key recruiters and helped them radicalise young men from London. He used to be a member of the Greek Orthodox Church but is said to have converted to Islam in his teens. He attended the al-Manaar mosque in Ladbroke Grove, west London, with Emwazi and Davis, it was reported. A local community worker said the trio were 'physically ejected' from the mosque because of their extremist views. They said 'He would definitely be standing there with, I'd say a dozen boys all listening to him. He was the speaker. He was the spokesman in that little group. 'It was Alex most definitely who was the lynchpin. The mosque did so much to keep these people at the fringes.' Advertisement