IS ‘Beatle’ guilty of all charges
El Shafee Elsheikh, a member of the notorious Islamic State kidnap-and-murder cell known as the "Beatles," was found guilty of all charges on Thursday for the deaths of four American hostages in Syria. A federal jury convicted Elsheikh, 33, a former British national, of eight counts after a two-week trial, the most significant prosecution of an IS militant in the United States.
Elsheikh was charged with hostage-taking, conspiracy to murder US citizens -- journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller -- and supporting a terrorist organization.
Elsheikh is to be sentenced on August 12 and faces the prospect of life behind bars.
The hostage-takers were dubbed the "Beatles" by their captives because of their British accents.
Foley, Sotloff and Kassig were beheaded by "Beatle" Mohamed Emwazi, known as "Jihadi John," and videos of their deaths were released by IS for propaganda purposes. Drone strikes killed Emwazi in Raqqa in November, 2015.
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