- Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary was rising star who performed under name L Jinny
- Left his parents' £1million home in north-west London to wage war in Syria
- Early images posted on Facebook show 23-year-old rapping in music studio
- Others show him squaring up to riot police and brandishing machine guns
- Ex friend: 'He had the talent - he could have been as big as Dizzee Rascal'
These pictures show the shocking slide into extremism of Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary from a London rapper to a brutal jihadist suspected of beheading a U.S. journalist.
Bary - nicknamed 'Jihadi John' - was a rising star who performed under the name L Jinny before leaving his parents' £1million home in Maida Vale to fight in Syria.
Now an album of pictures has emerged showing his fall from grace.
Scroll down for video
'Could have been as big as Dizzee Rascal': Pictures have emerged charting the decline of Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary (seen here in the studio) from rapper to prime suspect in the execution of a U.S. journalist in Syria
'Vengeful extremist': Others images show Bary's gradual slide into extremism including this one apparently showing the 23-year-old former lyricist in military fatigues and a mask wihle wielding a machine gun
Early shots show him wearing western labels such as Adidas hoodies as he raps in the studio, while another shot shows him squaring up to riot police.
Later images show the former lyricist in military fatigues and a mask wielding a machine gun, an AK-47 and an M16 assault rifle.
The pictures come from a Facebook page dating back to 2012 which is now believed to have been removed.
In posts alongside the images he attacks 'western propaganda' and wrote: 'Shame on you Muslims that are embarrassed of mujahids/jihads...'
Rising star: These pictures show Bary apparently during his rapping days in London when he performed under the name L Jinny before leaving the UK to fight in Syria with the Islamic State
Privileged life: Bary lived with his parent in their £1million home in Maida Vale before joining the extremist group
'Slide into radicalism': Bary is one of three British men who have emerged as potential identities for the masked extremist who killed U.S. journalist James Foley in a brutal propaganda video
In another post he added: 'Those who strive to defend the lives and freedom of helpless women and children are branded as blackguards, extremists, Islamists and terrorists.'
Bary is one of three British men who have emerged as potential identities for the masked extremist who killed James Foley in a brutal propaganda video.
The men, all in their early twenties, are thought to be in the IS capital of Raqqa, Syria.
The fighter, who spoke with a British accent, butchered the U.S. journalist, claiming it was in retaliation for U.S. air strikes on the Islamic State.
Friends say Bary became radicalised after coming into contact with extremists linked to hate preacher Anjem Choudary
Confrontational: This image shows the 23-year-old rapper squaring up to riot police
The pictures come from a Facebook page dating back to 2012 which is now believed to have been removed
A French prisoner who was held captive by 'John' says he was part of a group of British jihadists who call themselves 'The Beatles'.
Bary, 23, Abu Hussain Al-Britani, 20, a computer hacker from Birmingham, and Abu Abdullah al-Britani, in his 20s, from Portsmouth, have been mooted as identities for 'John'.
According to reports in The Sun newspaper, some of the men have similar voices and even use similar language to that used in the video.
An expert told the Sun that Bary's voice and speech patterns sounded 'the same' as those of the man speaking in the horrific video of Mr Foley's death.
Chilling: Later images on the Facebook page apparently show the former lyricist posing in military fatigues (left) and holding with an AK-47 machine gun (right)
Another image apparently showing Bary wielding a machine gun. In posts alongside the images he attacks 'western propaganda' and wrote: 'Shame on you Muslims that are embarrassed of mujahids/jihads...'
Armed and dangerous: This picture which also appeared on the Facebook page shows a masked fighter, believed to be Bary, holding an assault rifle
Bary has previously posted sickening images online of himself posing with the severed heard of a Syria soldier, accompanied by a joke.
Friends say Bary became radicalised after coming into contact with extremists linked to hate preacher Anjem Choudary.
A former friend said: 'He had the talent - he could have been as big as Dizzee Rascal.
He was doing music with huge names in the underground scene.
'People have got into his head - it's transformed a talented young guy into a vengeful extremist.'
No comments:
Post a Comment