A former Daesh member pleaded guilty Thursday to playing a role in the brutal killings of four Americans as well as the deaths of British and Japanese nationals in Syria.
Former British citizen Alexanda Amon Kotey, 37, participated in the captivity of American and European hostages in Syria from November 2012 through Feb. 7, 2015, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement.
Kotey, who was one of four Daesh members dubbed "the Beatles" by their captives because of their British accents, pleaded guilty to all eight counts against him at a plea hearing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia. He and another man, El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, whose case remains pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, were captured together in January 2018.
"Kotey specifically participated in the seizure, detention and hostage negotiations for four American citizens - James Wright Foley, Kayla Jean Mueller, Steven Joel Sotloff and Peter Edward Kassig - each of whom died as hostages in ISIS (Daesh) custody," said the release. "In addition, Kotey participated in hostage operations involving British, Italian, Danish and German nationals, among others."
The charges include hostage-taking resulting in death and providing material support or resources to a terrorist group. Kotey faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 4, 2022. He will serve 15 years in prison in the U.S. and will be transferred to the U.K.
The killings prompted widespread condemnation and anger following the release of the graphic footage. Kotey, who grew up in London said he had come to Syria to “engage in a military fight against the Syrian forces of Bashar Assad.”
“I accept I will be perceived as a radical who holds extremist views,” he said, acknowledging his participation in “capture-and-detain operations” to abduct Foley and other foreign targets.
Elsheikh will face the trial in January, while another member of the squad was killed in a 2015 drone strike. Aine Davis, who also was a part of the team is serving a prison sentence in Turkey.
