- Alexanda Kotey, 32, from Shepherd's Bush, was part of the 'ISIS Beatles'
- He converted to Islam in his teenage years and went on a Gaza aid convoy
- Kotey attended al-Manaar mosque in Ladbroke Grove, it has been claimed
- Former MP George Galloway said that he does not recall ever seeing Kotey
- Do you know Alexanda Kotey? Email: jay.akbar@mailonline.co.uk
Alexanda Kotey, 32, from Shepherd's Bush, tormented foreign prisoners in ISIS-held territory in Syria
Two members of the notorious ISIS 'Beatles', led by the terror group's chief executioner Jihadi John, have been identified.
One of the men, Alexanda Kotey, 32, from Shepherds Bush, is said to have been part of a Gaza aid convoy organised by former MP George Galloway.
He and the other so called 'Beatle', Aine Davis, from Hammersmith, both attended the same mosque as Mohammed Emwazi - better known as Jihadi John.
Both extremists worked as cruel prison guards who tormented foreign inmates at an ISIS jail in Syria, an investigation by Buzzfeed and Washington Post found.
Kotey's family today said they were 'deeply distressed' at claims he was part of Emwazi's murderous group - and confirmed they have not seen him 'for a number of years'. There are unconfirmed reports that he was killed in Syria last summer.
Father of two Kotey, a QPR fan, 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 has been claimed.
A local community worker said the trio were 'physically ejected' from the mosque because of their extremist views.
He told ITV News: 'I believe the mosque took steps to stop them from holding their little classrooms.
He also suggested Kotey was the ringleader, adding: '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.'
After he was thrown out, Kotey began organising private meetings to discuss Islam. Several extremists who have since travelled to Syria attended his lectures.
'[Kotey] always had a lot of currency and pulled a lot of people into his orbit,' a close friend of Kotey and Davis' told ITV News, adding that he was a 'polite and well spoken person.
Kotey, who is half Ghanaian, half Greek Cypriot, is thought to have travelled to the ISIS-held city of Raqqa, where he is believed to have become one of the four prison guards known as the Beatles
They added: 'It was Alex most definitely who was the lynchpin. The mosque did so much to keep these people at the fringes.'
'He radiates a road man influence - someone who has had a lot of experiences in life, had a lot of hardships and people younger than him... look up to him and he can speak to people on the level.
'He could have been in trouble with the police, he was like a politician, and he works the room. People were dispossessed and he was a magnet for those people, he understands that energy.'
Kotey, Davis and Emwazi were part of the 'London boys' - a group of young radical Muslim extremists, predominantly from West London who advocated fanaticism and violence.
The group was linked to 7/7 bombings and the failed 21/7 attack in London.
Alongside fellow London Boys member Reza Afsharzadegan, an Iranian-born IT student from the Ladbroke grove area, Kotey travelled to Gaza as part of an aid convoy led by Galloway in 2009.
Mr Galloway told ITV news he does not remember meeting Kotey. His spokesman Ron McKay said: 'There were 500 people on that convoy and George can't ever remember laying eyes on this guy. It's possible he was there but George doesn't remember meeting him.'
The second member of ISIS' s notorious 'Beatles' prison guards has been identified as a West Londoner who once went on a Gaza aid convoy organised by George Galloway (pictured)
He said there was a vetting procedure for those who applied to be on the convoy but he had never heard Kotey's name before.
He added: 'It [the aid convoy] predates the formation of IS and there were something like 120 vehicles and around 500 people on it.
Kotey, who is half Ghanaian, half Greek Cypriot, is thought to have travelled to the ISIS-held city of Raqqa, where he became one of the four prison guards known as the Beatles.
It is unclear if Kotey was the guard nicknamed 'Ringo' or 'George' although it was believed that someone claiming to be Ringo wrote on an Ask.Fm forum page that he was a QPR fan from Shepherd's Bush.
After Kotey converted to Islam, he acquired an Islamic name and started to grow a beard and wear Islamic robes.
As his views being more radical, he would challenge his moderate Muslim friends, according to one former friend of the jihadi.
The former friend recalled how Kotey would try to argue in favour of suicide bombing, insisting it was justifiable in accordance with the Koran.
'He was certainly the most vocal… 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,' a local community worker told ITV.
Kotey became a key recruiter for ISIS, encouraging at least three former students of Holland Park school to join the jihadi group.
Brothers Flamur, 23, and Fatlum Shalaku, 20, of Ladbroke Grove, west London, both travelled to Syria and were recruited by Kotey, according to ITV.
After initially joining ISIS, the brothers switched their allegiances to ISIS. When Flamur was killed in Iraq in March 2015, his brother struggled to deal with his death, according to one British ISIS fighter.
He signed up to become a suicide bomber and drove a truck laden with explosives into government buildings in Ramadi, allowing ISIS to briefly capture the city.
Neighbours reported that the brothers, who are of Kosovan-Albanian descent became radicalised and went to Syria in 2013, telling their parents they were travelling to do aid work.
They are both said to have been friends of Mohammed Nasser, 21, who died fighting for ISIS after shrapnel hit him in the head.
Nasser's death was confirmed to ITV by his best friend Hamza Parvez, (pictured left) also a former Holland Park student
Killed: Fatlum Shalaku, 20, (left) of Ladbroke Grove, west London, died in suicide car bomb while Mohammed Nasser 21, (right) died fighting for ISIS after shrapnel hit him in the head. Kotey is thought to have played an important part in recruiting both young men
FACT BOX TITLE
By Chris Greenwood and Sian Boyle
A leading British Islamic State fighter was in contact with the Paris terrorists days before the atrocities, security sources revealed last night.
Aine Davis and other members of a Turkish cell exchanged messages about conducting simultaneous strikes in Istanbul, a senior official said.
But further tragedy was averted when the Islamist, a close friend of serial killer Mohammed Emwazi, was arrested during raids in the city last week.
The claims expose for the first time how a British jihadi appears to have had a controlling hand in the carnage. And they are further evidence of how homegrown militants are occupying key roles in the IS hierarchy.
There is also growing unease at the role of a British preacher, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in sowing seeds of militant Islam in Belgium, where the Paris conspiracy was based. The Islamist travelled regularly to Brussels where he helped inspire the group Sharia4Belgium.
Yesterday's revelation of messages between Davis, 31, and the Paris terrorists follows his arrest last week. The Briton was among a gang of senior IS militants apprehended at a luxury villa in the suburbs of Istanbul.
Security officials have uncovered messages showing he was helping to plot an attack there, in tandem with the Paris strikes.
Despite the new birth, Davis left el-Wahabi two months later, travelling first to Turkey before crossing into Syria and joining ISIS
Investigators believe the communications show how Davis was a trusted member of the terror group's inner circle, charged with arranging attacks overseas. A senior Turkish source said: 'Davis is a figure with key responsibilities within Islamic State and he wasn't caught alone. He was within a group.
'Right now, we're investigating whether they were planning an attack in Istanbul similar to the one in Paris. We suspect there could have been a parallel attack with Paris, on the same day.' Davis - from the same area of west London as Emwazi, killed in a drone strike last week - is already a notorious IS figure.
The Muslim convert, inspired by Al Qaeda preacher Anwar Al Awlaki and cleric Abu Hamza, was responsible for guarding foreign prisoners and posed for photos with AK47-wielding fighters.
Last year his wife Amal El Wahabi was jailed for 28 months for asking a friend to smuggle 20,000 euros to Syria hidden in her underwear. The friend, Nawal Msaad - dubbed the 'jihottie' for her model looks - was cleared.
Mother-of-two Wahabi, 28, was convicted on grounds the money was from Davis's career as a drug dealer. But detectives believe the cash was raised by a well-connected London circle sending substantial sums to IS.
Meanwhile, the full extent of links between the unnamed British hate preacher and extremists in Belgium are being poured over by intelligence analysts.
The preacher had a key role in establishing Sharia4Belgium, led by Fouad Belkacem, and other inflammatory groups.
He once described Belkacem, who has espoused vile and bigoted views, as a 'dear friend' and the two were regularly pictured together. They held a press conference in Belgium in May 2010 to introduce the Islamist group.
Aine Davis, (pictured, face not muzzed) originally from Hammersmith, is thought to one of the guards, known as the Beatles, at an ISIS prison holding foreign hostages in Syria
It is believed followers of the preacher also went to meet violent radicals in Brussels.
A second radical cleric, Omar Bakri Mohammed, who was once based in Britain, was also introduced to the group.
The Antwerp trial of Belkacem and more than 40 others - one of the biggest terror trials in Europe - heard how members held meetings in London in late 2010. Many of the men later fought in Syria and actively recruited other followers online.
Belkacem was jailed for 12 years and another 44 members were given sentences, some suspended, of three to 15 years.
But only seven of the accused were in court. Most of the others were still in Syria, and some are thought to be dead.
The British preacher was convicted in his absence of a public order offence in Belgium. He claimed he was not notified of the case or offered the opportunity to present a defence.
Another Briton, Abu Rahin Aziz, was investigated by the Belgians in 2013 after warning Belgium would be 'destroyed' by Muslims if Belkacem was not freed. Aziz skipped bail on assault charges in Britain in 2014. He was killed in Syria by a US missile in July this year.
'Parallel strikes in Istanbul' 'Member of IS inner circle'
Nasser, of Eritrean origin, travelled to Syria with his best friend Hamza Parvez, also a former Holland Park student.
Alexanda Kotey is thought to have been close friends with Davis. They attended the same mosque as Kotey and is thought to have been one of the guards, known as the Beatles, at an ISIS prison holding foreign hostages in Syria.
He was also the jihadi at the centre of a sensational court trial last year which saw his wife, Amal el-Wahabi, jailed for funding terrorism while university student Nawal Msaad, 27, was sensationally cleared of trying to smuggle £16,000 in her underwear to Syria.
The court case revealed how Davis had a controlling presence over his wife, Amal el-Wahabi, who was convicted of helping to fund raise his life in Syria.
Prior to travelling to Syria, Davis was convicted six times for possessing cannabis and was also heavily involved in gang circles, where he was known as 'Biggz'.
The gangster worked as a gun runner, selling handguns before the weapons factory he worked for was busted by police.
It is unclear when Davis converted to Islam and adopted the name Hamza. When police raided his wife's home, Davis's iPod revealed he used to listen to lectures by radical American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
Two West London jihadis of Egyptian descent, known only as Abu Muawiyah and Abu Qudamah, are also thought to have been associates of Jihadi John
He met his wife Amal el-Wahabi at Westbourne Park mosque in 2006 and despite the disapproval of her parents, they developed a close relationship.
Davis' new found interest in religion led him to persuade his girlfriend that they should move to Yemen.
Davis enrolled at a madrasa to study Arabic and the Qur'an, only for the couple to return to the UK when Amal became pregnant.
The relationship fell apart just two months before their first child was born in 2009. Davis embarked on several trips to the Middle East, visiting Saudi Arabia, Egypt and returned briefly to Yemen.
Two years later, Davis and el-Wahabi restarted their relationship for a second time and by May 2013, the couple had their second child.
Despite the new birth, Davis left el-Wahabi two months later, travelling first to Turkey before crossing into Syria and joining ISIS.
In late December 2015, Turkish authorities arrested three suspected members of the ISIS in Istanbul, including two Pakistanis and a Briton, who are thought to be linked to an associate of Jihadi John.
Kotey is believed to have become a key recruiter for ISIS, encouraging at least three former students of Holland Park school (pictured) to join the jihadi group
ISIS wrote a lengthy obituary about Abu Qudamah al-Misri, a British national of Egyptian origin, who travelled to Syria in the summer of 2012. He was killed in Syria in late 2013
The British man, named only as Hasan H, was detained at a bus stop in the conservative Fatih district of Istanbul.
The two Pakistani suspects were detained following a raid on their homes in Istanbul's central Mecidiyekoy district, according to local media.
Their capture is believed to have led to information and the eventual capture of Hasan H after police expanded the operation.
All have now been remanded in custody by a court and no other details have been released about their alleged links with the jihadi group.
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