Londoners identified as part of Islamic State's 'Beatles' gang

Two Londoners have been identified as being members of the Islamic State gang nicknamed The Beatles – the group headed by Mohammed Emwazi, known as "Jihadi John".

Alexanda Kotey, 32, and Aine Davis, 31, are believed to have belonged to the terror cell responsible for beheading 27 hostages, according to ITV News and The Guardian.

Kotey, a Muslim convert, was reported to be a "key recruiter for the terror group" and helped radicalise young men in London before travelling to Syria. His whereabouts are unknown.

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Davis, a former drug dealer who went to Syria in 2013, was detained in Turkey last November, on suspicion of planning terror attacks in Istanbul.

Former hostages said Emwazi (pictured above) was part of a team of British men who guarded Western captives at a prison in Idlib, Syria, three years ago. Their captives nicknamed them The Beatles because of their nationality, with Emwazi, who was killed in a drone strike in November, being named after John Lennon.

The three men were friends in west London and all attended the Al-Manaar mosque in Ladbroke Grove, says The Guardian.

They were known for their extremist views and connections to the "London Boys", the group responsible for the 7/7 attacks in central London.

Kotey's name was confirmed to the Washington Post by a US intelligence official and other people familiar with British nationals in Syria.

The Al-Manaar mosque said it had "always condemned the actions of these extremists and will continue to do so". Its director, Saleha Islam, said it held workshops and conferences to guide young people.

"Al-Manaar is a centre where we have up to 3,000 people attending every week; it is not a membership club and anyone can come and pray," she said. "The suggestion that the mosque has radicalised young men shows how ignorant people are of Islam and how mosques work."

The Home Office has refused to confirm or deny either man's identity.