The US on Tuesday designated an Indian-origin British man named Siddhartha Dhar as a global terrorist, saying he has replaced Mohammed Emwazi, popularly known as Jihadi John, as an executioner for ISIS. Dhar has been dubbed the "New Jihadi John."
Along with Dhar, Belgian-Moroccan citizen Abdelatif Gaini has also been designated as a global terrorist by the US State Department. This move allows the government to freeze assets and property and impose sanctions.
Here's everything we know about Dhar.
- Dhar was born a Hindu, but converted to Islam and adopted the name Abu Rumaysah.
- Dhar previously owned a bouncy castle rental company.
- He has appeared in a documentary named The Jihadis Next Door.
- In 2014, he skipped police bail in the UK to travel to Syria with his wife and young children
- A May 2016 report in The Independent quoted Nihad Barakat, a teenager held as a sex slave by the ISIS, as saying she was kidnapped and trafficked by Dhar.
- Dhar was a member of now-defunct terrorist organisation Al-Muhajiroun.
- Dhar is believed to be the man behind the mask who appeared in a January 2016 ISIS video that showed the execution of several prisoners.
- In May 2015, Dhar released a travel guide to the Islamic State titled A Brief Guide to Islamic State. He wrote: "If you thought London or New York was cosmopolitan then wait until you step foot in the Islamic State, because it screams diversity. In my short time here I have met people from absolutely every walk of life, proof that the caliphate's pulling power is strong and tenacious."
