Islamic State 'Beatles' cell member El Shafee Elsheikh convicted of beheading hostages by US court

Elsheikh was accused of being a member of a notorious Islamic State cell that operated in Syria and Iraq. (Reuters: Bill Hennessy)

A US jury has convicted a former British citizen for his role in an Islamic State hostage-taking plot that led to the beheading of American journalists and aid workers.

After a six-week trial and four hours of deliberations, a federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, found El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, guilty on charges including lethal hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit murder.

In convicting Elsheikh on Thursday, the jury concluded that he was part of an Islamic State terrorist cell, nicknamed 'The Beatles' for their British accents, that beheaded American hostages in Iraq and Syria.

Some former hostages, released by the notorious group after protracted negotiations, testified during the trial about the torture they endured. Family members of the deceased victims also testified.

The charges against Elsheikh, whose British citizenship was withdrawn in 2018, carry a potential death sentence, but US prosecutors have advised British officials they will not seek the death penalty.

Journalists beheaded on videotape

El Shafee Elsheikh (right) and Alexanda Kotey (left) were taken into US military custody after being captured in 2019. (AP: Hussein Malla)

Elsheikh, who was born in Sudan and raised in London, was accused of conspiring to kill four American hostages: James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.

Mr Foley and Mr Sotloff, both journalists, and Mr Kassig, an aid worker, were killed in videotaped beheadings.

Ms Mueller was raped repeatedly by the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, before her death in Syria, US officials have said.

Another of the cell's members, Alexanda Kotey, was held in Iraq by the US military before being flown to the US to face trial.

Kotey pleaded guilty last September to the murders of Foley, Sotloff, Mueller and Kassig.

'Simple ISIS fighter', not ringleader

UK-raised Elsheikh was not a member of 'The Beatles' cell, his lawyer argued. (AP: Alexandria Sheriff's Office )

During opening arguments in the US trial, Elsheikh's lawyer, Ed MacMahon, called him a "simple ISIS fighter" and tried to cast doubt on whether he was one of 'The Beatles'.

The captors wore masks and had similar accents, making it difficult for hostages to identify them, he said.

"It was horrific and senseless. None of that is in dispute," Mr MacMahon said.

Reuters/ABC