ISIS: Turkey detains close associate of Jihadi John

Turkish authorities have detained a man believed to be a close associate of the notorious Islamic State (IS) killer Jihadi John. Aine Lesley Davis was arrested and is believed to be one of several suspected militants held in a swoop in Istanbul.

A Turkish official said that they are "99 percent certain" that the man is Davis, saying that it has "been confirmed by initial data". He was also described as a "close associate" of Mohammed Emwazi, the masked IS executioner who appeared in a series of graphic videos showing the barbaric beheading of western hostages, including Alan Henning, David Haines and James Foley.

Emwazi was killed in a drone strike near Raqqa, Syria on 12 November in a combined effort by the UK and US. Washington said it was "reasonably certain" that Emwazi was killed. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cited Syrian sources in Raqqa as saying that the militant had been blown to pieces.

Further details of the arrest were not divulged, but it comes as Turkey prepares to host the G20 Leader's Summit in the southern city of Antalya. "We are investigating if this suspect came for an attack," said the official. He added: "This shows that Turkey is facing a great risk to its national security

"We expect an active response from the international community," said the official.

Londoner Aine Lesley Davis went to Syria in 2013 and is believed to have been an ISIS prison guard holding foreign hostages in the country. Before going to Syria, Davis was convicted on six occasions for possession of cannabis and was known as "Biggz" in gang circles.

In 2014, Davis' wife, Amal el-Wahabi was imprisoned for funding terrorism after attempting to trick a friend into taking £14,000 ($21,000) to Turkey.