The Islamic State's most notorious executioner 'Jihadi John', who has now been identified as Mohammed Emwazi, has apologised to his family for bringing shame on them, according to a report published in Sunday Times. Emwazi, however, expressed no regret for murdering western hostages, the report said.
Reports that Emwazi was born on their soil have stirred deep unease among Kuwaitis about the vulnerability of their country to wars in nearby Iraq and Syria in which some of their Arab allies have become combatants.
Emwazi expressed remorse for the "problems and trouble the revelation of his identity has caused". He is believed to have sent his apology via a third party from Syria to his family members, who have been told by MPs of their country to publicly distance themselves from Emwazi.
Emwazi's father, Jasem, who has fled to Kuwait, was reported to have called his son a "terrorist" and "dog" last week. Yet he appeared to have backtracked from these remarks, questioning whether his son was in fact "Jihadi John" as there is "no proof", a report said.
The identification of Emwazi as the masked man wielding a knife over western hostages gives potential recruits a high profile personality with whom to identify and Kuwait's role supporting the US-led fight against Islamic State only increases the appeal for those who feel alienated at home.
{{/usCountry}}The identification of Emwazi as the masked man wielding a knife over western hostages gives potential recruits a high profile personality with whom to identify and Kuwait's role supporting the US-led fight against Islamic State only increases the appeal for those who feel alienated at home.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, two charities have stopped funding a rights group in contact with Emwazi before he left for Syria, Britain's charities regulator has said.
Rights group Cage describes its work as supporting people arrested or raided as a result of the "war on terror" following the 9/11 attacks in 2001. It worked with Emwazi for over two years and, when he was identified by the Washington Post as "Jihadi John" last month, its research director Asim Qureshi described him as a "beautiful young man" and blamed British intelligence for radicalising him.
With inputs from Agencies