Islamic State Fighter Convicted for Role in Murder of Four Americans

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—A federal jury on Thursday convicted a British Islamic State fighter of being part of a brutal cell that murdered U.S. hostages, capping a nearly two-week trial dominated by stirring testimony from survivors of the torture.

After deliberating for less than a day, jurors found El Shafee Elsheikh guilty of eight counts, including hostage-taking resulting in death, conspiring to murder Americans outside the U.S. and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. Prosecutors sought to show Mr. Elsheikh was one of a group of British guards known to the foreign prisoners as the “Beatles,” who were feared for their wanton cruelty, which included vicious beatings that often left hostages with broken ribs.