A week after the masked killer of photojournalist James Foley was identified as originating from Britain, the British security services have narrowed down the identity of the killer to three suspects, including British born rapper Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary.
According to a report from the Daily News Bary is a former rapper from London who went to join and fight for the militants in Syria. He left his family's house last year, which valued at least $1 million dollars in an affluent area of west London, to fight in Syria. Bary is one of six children born to Abdel Abdul Bary, who is an al-Qaida operative who was charged with being connected with the 1998 bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
After Bary relocated to Syria last year, he tweeted a picture of himself holding a severed head and another with him posing with his face covered and holding a gun. The image of the beheaded man had no connection to the beheading of James Foley.
According to the Associated Press, Peter Westmacott, Britain’s ambassador to the United States, said to help identify the killer, investigators used voice-recognition software. Several British jihadists that left the country and went to the Raqqa area of Syria were also investigated.
200 people attended a vigil for Foley that was held in his hometown of Rochester, New Hampshire. His father, John Foley, was grateful for the support and the memory people had of his son doing what he loved.
"He loved the Syrian people. He was devoted to telling their story and doing whatever he could to help their fight."