A U.S. airstrike is believed to have killed a British citizen who rose to prominence within the Islamic State, officials have told the Guardian.
The Birmingham-born Junaid Hussain, who adopted the nom de guerre Abu Hussain al-Britani, had been a key figure within Isis’ so-called “Cyber Caliphate” before being killed in the strike in Syria, where he had travelled in 2013.
After the man known as “Jihadi John,” who beheaded captured westerners while speaking in British-accented English, Hussain is considered the most prominent UK citizen to have joined Isis.
As of late Wednesday, Aug 26, the Guardian says, the U.S. had yet to officially announce Hussain’s death, which could not be independently verified, beyond saying that it had launched airstrikes against Isis in recent days.
The strike is believed to be a U.S. military operation, rather than a CIA drone attack.
As part of Isis “Cyber Caliphate,” Hussain is also believed to have aided Isis in obtaining the passwords of the U.S. Central Command’s Twitter and YouTube accounts in January and briefly using them to send pro-IS messages.
In Britain, the 21-year old Hussain had been part of the hacker group Team Poison, where, using the handle Trick, he gained access to the address book of former prime minister Tony Blair and published information from it. The hack earned him six months in jail in 2012.
