THE MAIN SUSPECT in the murder of American photojournalist James Foley in Syria is ex-London rapper Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, according to reports from the UK Sunday Times.
Citing “senior government sources”, the newspaper claimed British intelligence agencies MI5 and MI6 have used voice recognition and other techniques to identify Bary as the hooded man heard speaking in a London accent before beheading Foley in a video removed from YouTube last week.
As a rapper under the monikers of L Jinny and Lyricist Jinn, Bary was at one time a rising star on the underground hip-hop scene in London, whose music was even played on BBC Radio 1, according to the Mirror.
Father on Al Qaeda terrorism charges
It has also emerged that the 23-year-old, from the affluent West London suburb of Maida Vale, is the son of Egypt-born lawyer Abdel Abdul Bary, who has been charged in the US in relation to Al Qaeda’s 1998 bombings of American embassies in Africa.
Bary Sr, 54, was extradited from the UK to the US in 2012, to face terrorism charges.
In court papers, prosecutors have alleged Bary’s fingerprints were found at a location from which al-Qaida faxed out claims of responsibility for the embassy bombing attacks in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people, including a dozen Americans.
His trial is scheduled to begin on 3 November.
Contains reporting from Associated Press.
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