“A British national admitted Thursday evening [9/2/2021] in a federal courtroom near the nation’s capital that he played a leadership role in an Islamic State scheme to torture, hold for ransom and eventually behead American hostages.
Alexanda Anon Kotey, 37, pleaded guilty to all eight counts against him at a plea hearing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. The charges include hostage-taking resulting in death and providing material support to the Islamic State group from 2012 through 2015.
He admitted guilt in connection with the deaths of four American hostages — journalist James Foley, journalist Steven Sotloff and aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller — as well as European and Japanese nationals who also were held captive. …
The plea deal sets a mandatory minimum sentence of life without parole. …
Kotey and [El Shafee] Elsheikh were captured in Syria in 2018 by the U.S.-supported Syrian Democratic Forces while trying to escape to Turkey.”
– Associated Press, “A Man Pleads Guilty in Islamic State Beheadings of U.S. Hostages,” npr.org, September 2, 2021
Editor’s note: According to most historians of the Islamic State (also referred to as ISIS, ISIL, and Daesh), “the group emerged out of al-Qaeda in Iraq as a response to the U.S. invasion in 2003.” See Hassan Hassan, “The True Origins of ISIS,” theatlantic.com, November 30, 2018, for more information.