Jihadhi John may have been radicalised by childhood friend

Emwazi, who has been identified as the Isil militant known as Jihadhi John, was friends with Mohammed Sakr, who went on to become a senior figure in the jihadist group al-Shabaab

Mohammed Emwazi, identified as 'Jihadi John', was just a regular schoolboy growing up in west London. Nobody imagined he would turn into the most barbaric terrorist on the planet

Mohammed Emwazi may have been radicalised by a childhood friend who was later killed in a US drone attack in Somalia.

Emwazi, 26, went to school and a local mosque with Mohammed Sakr and Sakr’s young brother, from whom he was said to be inseparable.

His attempt to reach Tanzania aged 21 for what he claimed was a safari trip bears a striking resemblance to a similar journey taken months earlier by Sakr, who later rose through the ranks of the al-Shabaab jihadist group in Somalia.

Friends said Emwazi and Sakr’s younger brother, who were in the same year at school, were thought to have come under the influence of Sakr, who was three years older.

Sakr set up a car valeting business in his early 20s before becoming a key member of an established network of extremists around west London’s Ladbroke Grove. He, his brother and Emwazi all went to Quintin Kynaston academy in nearby St John’s Wood, where Sakr was three years above his sibling and Emwasi.

A former school friend said Emwazi, who has now been identified as the Isil militant known as Jihadhi John, and Sakr’s brother “were always together at school”.

“They lived in the same area and they were friends all the way through school. I knew they went to mosque together too.

“I heard that after school that they were getting radical views.”

The former Quintin Kynaston pupil, now 27, who asked to remain anonymous, said of Emwazi: “He was friends with everyone really. As far as I know he didn’t have a girlfriend.

"He was a run-of-the-mill sort of guy. He played football with everyone at lunch break, he was good at football to be fair, he was a fast, skilful player.

“He was a joker, people would have a laugh with him. There were a few naughty kids in the year but Mohammed was just normal. “

Mohammed Emwazi pictured at school and at Westminster university

Mohammed Emwazi pictured at school and at Westminster university

Another former pupil said: "He wasn't violent, he was just a regular kid. Nothing special. If somebody beat him up he would probably be on the ground."

However, Emwazi was to come across MI5’s radar in the summer of 2009 when he attempted to travel to Tanzania. The security service believed that rather than embarking on a safari holiday he was attempting to join al-Shabaab in Somalia.

The trip bears remarkable similarities to a journey undertaken by Sakr months earlier, when he too attracted the attention of British intelligence officials. Both men were part of an established network of extremists sometimes referred to as the “The London Boys”.

Sakr visited Kenya in February 2009 with Bilal al-Berjwal, a Lebanese-born friend with whom he had grown up and who was involved in a local Muslim youth gang.

The pair were both detained in Nairobi on suspicion of terrorist-related activities. They insisted that they had travelled to the country for a safari, but were deported back to the UK and the Sakr family home searched by anti-terror police.

Mohamed Sakr was stripped of his british citizenship by UK authorities on national security grounds and subsequently killed by a US drone attack while he was in Somalia

Months later, in August 2009 Emwazi, now 21, travelled to Tanzania with two friends. He claimed the trip was a safari holiday after university before going to Kuwait to finalise his marriage plans, however MI5 accused him of attempting to reach Somalia, where al-Shabaab controlled parts of the country.

Then, in October, Sakr and Bilal left the country again, without telling their family that they were leaving. Both ended up in Somalia, where the UN-backed government was locked in a civil war with al-Shabaab.

The pair then rose to become senior figures in al-Shabaab. In January 2012, Berjawi was killed in a US airstrike, while Sakr died in another strike a month later.

Meanwhile Emwazi left the country in 2013 after being refused permission to travel to Kuwait, where he had in the meantime secured a job. By July 2013 he had joined Islamic State in Syria.

On Friday more detail also emerged on the activities of Emwazi’s younger brother Omar, who was described by former neighbours as a “suspicious tear-away”.

A former neighbour, who declined to be named, said: “To be honest when someone hangs around at 12 midnight at the age of 14, and obviously when you see them being escorted out of his house by police - well it speaks for itself.”

Mohammed Emwazi, identified as 'Jihadi John', was just a regular schoolboy growing up in west London. Nobody imagined he would turn into the most barbaric terrorist on the planet

Mohammed Emwazi pictured in an ISIL propaganda video

Mohammed’s younger brother apparently had a sideline in petty crime with reports suggesting that he handled a stolen police bike.

Omar is also believed to have been caught stealing from a shopping centre and subjected to community orders.

In a statement released by Westminster Council on the disclosure of Emwazi’s identity "Jihadist John", a spokesman for Quintin Kynaston Community Academy said: “If the allegations are true we are all extremely shocked and sickened by the news.

“All members of staff at QK work very hard to support the education and well-being of our students and protect them from harm.

“In this respect, QK has been extremely proactive in working with the Government’s Prevent strategy for a period of time and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future.”