UK police arrest alleged member of Islamic State ‘Beatles’ cell

Aine Davis (38) denies being part of group with English accents that beheaded western hostages in Syria

Aine Davis (38), from west London, is accused of being a member of an Islamic State cell that murdered hostages. Photograph: Metropolitan Police/PA
Aine Davis (38), from west London, is accused of being a member of an Islamic State cell that murdered hostages. Photograph: Metropolitan Police/PA

A man alleged to be the fourth member of an Islamic State terror cell known as The Beatles has been arrested in the United Kingdom on terror charges.

Aine Davis (38) was arrested on Wednesday evening after arriving into Luton airport on a flight from Turkey, according to BBC News. He had been serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for a conviction on terrorism charges.

He was arrested in relation to offences under sections 15, 17 and 57 of the Terrorism Act, 2000.

Davis was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command and taken to a police station in south London, the BBC reported. He is currently in police custody.

READ MORE

Davis is said to have denied he was part of the Beatles cell — so nicknamed because of their English accents — which tortured and beheaded western hostages in Syria.

Cell ringleader Mohammed Emwazi, widely known as Jihadi John, was killed in a drone strike in 2015.

Londoner Alexanda Kotey was jailed in the United States in April for his part in the torture and murder of American hostages.

His co-defendant, El Shafee Elsheikh, will be sentenced in August for his role in the plot. — PA