The Islamic State fighter known as "Jihadi John" was a cold loner who set himself apart from others, says an IS defector who met him in Syria. The BBC has spoken to a man who came across Mohammed Emwazi when he first arrived in Syria about two years ago. Unlike other Britons, Emwazi wanted to appear in IS videos, the man said. Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born UK citizen, from west London, has been named as the man in several IS videos where hostages have been beheaded. Abu Ayman, as he calls himself, is a skinny young man in his 20s, with a ready smile, and a defector from IS, also known as Isis or Isil. He spoke to us about his encounters with one of the world's most wanted men. When they met, they were both just ordinary fighters with Islamist groups fighting the Syrian regime. Foreign fighters - many from Britain - had gathered at a town called Atmeh in northern Syria. 'He was strange' Atmeh was - and is - a sprawling, desolate refugee camp on a hillside. But the jihadis took over nearby homes and lived in some comfort. The British fighters were always hanging out together, but he wouldn't join them" The Britons called it their "five star jihad" - and they posted Twitter and Instagram snaps to show it. Abu Ayman visited the "British house" several times. He said Mohammed Emwazi struck him as odd the first time he met him. "He was cold. He didn't talk much. He wouldn't join us in prayer," he said. "He'd only pray with his friends. ... the other British brothers prayed with us, but he was strange." He added: "The other British brothers would say 'hi' when they saw us on the road, but he turned his face away. "The British fighters were always hanging out together, but he wouldn't join them."
