Jihadi John: Dead?

The ISISterrorist nicknamed “Jihadi John” was hit by a U.S. airstrike in Syria late Thursday night and is believed to have been killed.

Jihadi John, whose real name was Mohammed Emwazi, was a British citizen who oversaw the brutal executions of American and Western hostages, ABC News reported, adding that officials stated that he was thought to be hit by the airstrike as he left a building in Raqqa, Syria. Officials called it a “flawless” and “clean hit” with no collateral damage, stating that Emwazi basically “evaporated.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron made a statement on Friday morning confirming the attack, claiming that the American military was 99 percent certain that Emwazi had been killed, the Guardian reported, adding that Britain had been working “hand in glove, round the clock” with the U.S. to track down and target Emwazi.

Cameron said Emwazi had remained a threat to innocent people around the world, the Guardian claimed, adding: “This was an act of self-defence. It was the right thing to do.”

Diane Foley, the mother of Emwazi’s first victim, James Foley, told ABC that Emwazi’s potential demise would be “really a small solace to us.”

“This huge effort to go after this deranged man filled with hate when they can’t make half that effort to save the hostages while these young Americans were still alive,” Foley said to ABC.

Richard Clarke, a former counterterrorism advisor to the White House and current ABC News consultant, said, “Since ISIS has used propaganda and its ‘winner’ image to lure new adherents, when its propaganda figure is killed, that makes it look more like a loser, more like the tide may be turning against it.”