Islamic State 'Beatles' cell member faces life in prison after pleading guilty to executions of American journalists, aid workers

• A former Islamic State member pleaded guilty in federal court to killing four Americans in Syria.
• The 2014 killings were filmed and used as propaganda videos, The Washington Post reported.
• It's the first time an ISIS member is held accountable in a US court for the killings.

A former Islamic State member pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to playing a role in the kidnappings and deaths of four Americans, The Washington Post reported.

Alexanda Kotey, 37, faces a mandatory life sentence after his plea marks the first time that a member of ISIS is held accountable for the 2014 killings in a US court, the Post said.

The killings of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller, were filmed and used as propaganda videos, the report said.

Kotey pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including conspiracy to murder US citizens outside the US and conspiracy to commit hostage-taking resulting in death, according to The New York Times.

If Kotey cooperates, The Times said, part of his plea deal allows him to go to Britain after 15 years to serve the rest of his life sentence.

Kotey is part of an ISIS cell of four Britons known as the "Beatles," a nickname given by their victims because of their British accents, the Times said.

According to the Times, the group kidnapped and abused over two dozen hostages.

Kotey and another "Beatle" member were captured by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces while trying to flee to Turkey after the collapse of ISIS in Syria and Iraq in 2018, DW News reported.