US sanctions Alexanda Kotey, British member of Islamic State cell

The US has imposed sanctions on a British man after naming him as a member of an Islamic State terror cell dubbed "The Beatles".

The State Department says Alexanda Kotey, 33, is one of a four-member cell responsible for beheading around two dozen hostages.

Their victims included American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and US aid worker Peter Kassig.

The sanctions freezes any property or interests Kotey may have in the US and prohibits Americans from having any dealings with him.

The US claims it is likely that Kotey, from Paddington, is involved in executions and torture, including electronic shock and waterboarding, and has recruited several other British nationals to IS.

The leader of the cell was Londoner Mohammed Emwazi - dubbed Jihadi John - who was also responsible for the killing of Britons David Haines and Alan Henning, as well as Mr Kassig.

Emwazi, who featured in IS propaganda videos carrying out beheadings, was killed in a drone strike in 2015.

Aine Davis, also from London, was arrested in Turkey the same year, while the fourth man was named in 2016 as former child refugee El Shafee Elsheikh, a mechanic from White City in west London.

The men were apparently given the collective nickname "The Beatles" by hostages because of their distinctive British accents.

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