The Beatles (terrorist cell)

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"The Beatles" was the nickname for an Islamic State cell composed of four British militants. The terrorist group was named by their hostages after the English rock group The Beatles, referring to the members as "John", "Paul", "George", and "Ringo". The group was known for carrying out the 2014 beheadings in Iraq and Syria of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning. The group also held more than 20 Western hostages of ISIS in Western Raqqa, Syria. They were reportedly harsher compared to other ISIS guards, torturing captives with electroshock weapons and subjecting them to mock executions (including a crucifixion) and waterboarding. In November 2015, one of the militants was killed and one was arrested and imprisoned in Turkey. Two were captured in early 2018, transferred to U.S. military custody, and sentenced to life imprisonment in the U.S. in 2022.

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