The Department of Defense said Thursday it might have taken down “Jihadi John” with a drone strike in Syria.
The airstrike took place Thursday in Raqqa, Syria, where Jihadi John, also known as Mohammed Enwazi, was believed to be located. He was reportedly riding in a vehicle at the time.
Enwazi has gained international notoriety for appearing in Islamic State propaganda, in which he executed hostages with a knife while wearing a black mask. He is suspected of killing American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, two American journalists, two British aid workers and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. Enwazi is a British citizen.
While it’s not clear if Enwazi is dead, U.S. officials think that is a very likely outcome of the strike, which deliberately targeted him. Officials are currently assessing the results of the operation to reach a more definite conclusion.
“We are assessing the results for a final confirmation, but initial indications are that Jihadi John is no longer on this planet,” a U.S. official told The Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. has stepped up its operations against ISIS recently with the deployment of 50 special operations troops to northern Syria.
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