NEW DELHI: An Indian-origin Islamic State militant from Britain Siddhartha Dhar was designated as global terrorist by the US. He is considered to have replaced the IS's executioner Mohammad Emwazi, known as "Jihadi John".

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He was a British Hindu who converted to Islam and now goes by the name Abu Rumaysah. He is believed to be the masked leader who appeared in a January 2016 ISIS video of the execution of several prisoners ISIS accused of spying for the UK, the state department said.

The US has designated two ISIS members Dhar as Specially Designated Global Terrorists and imposes sanctions on them for committing or posing a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism that threaten the security of US nationals or the national security, a state department spokesperson said yesterday in a statement.

 Image: file

Nihad Barakat, a Yazidi teenager held as a sex slave by ISIS, was quoted as saying by the Independent in May 2016 that she was kidnapped and trafficked by Dhar, who was based in Mosul, the group's former stronghold in Iraq.

Dhar was dubbed as the "New Jihadi John" and became a senior commander of the dreaded outfit, the report had said.  Dhar was a leading member of now-defunct terrorist organisation Al-Muhajiroun. In late 2014, he left the UK to travel to Syria to join ISIS.

He is considered to have replaced ISIS executioner Emwazi, also known as "Jihadi John".

The action notifies the US public and the international community that Dhar has committed or pose a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism, it said.

(with input from agencies)