BBC report: "Jihadi John's" identity has been exposed

The masked Islamic State extremist, who appears beheading hostages in the organization's videos, known as "Jihadi John", has been identified.

"Jihadi John" beheading hostage Photo Credit: IS video/Channel 2

The BBC has reportedly exposed the identity of the maskedIslamic State executioner "Jihadi John". The report claims that he was identified as Mohammed Emwazi, a young British man who is believed to be from West London, and who is known to the local security forces.

Emwazi has a computer science degree. His first appearance in an IS video was last August. In the video, he is shown beheading American journalistJames Foley.

In September, FBI Director James Comey claimed that the agency had been able to identify "Jihadi John", however he refused to expose his name or nationality. He added that the FBI was able to do so with international help.

British officials have stated in the past that they believed the man to be British citizen.