ISIS ‘Beatle’ Who Beheaded Americans Sentenced to Life in Prison

ISIS ‘Beatle’ Who Beheaded Americans Sentenced to Life in Prison
El Shafee Elsheikh in custody at the Alexandria Adult Detention Center in Alexandria, Va., on Oct. 7, 2020. Alexandria Sheriff's Office via AP
Reuters
Updated:
0:00

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—A U.S. federal judge on Friday sentenced a member of an ISIS terrorist cell known as “The Beatles” to life in prison for involvement in a hostage-taking plot that led to the killings of American journalists and aid workers in Syria.

Families and friends of the four Americans killed and of other hostages previously detained by the terrorist group looked on as District Court Judge T.S. Ellis sentenced El Shafee Elsheikh, 34, to life without parole, calling his behavior “horrific, barbaric, brutal, and of course criminal.”