An article published by the Sun reveals the main suspects for the execution of US journalist James Foley in the brutal propaganda video that was released a few days ago.

A rapper, a hacker and a jihadist propagandist are emerging as potential identities for the masked extremist who beheaded Foley, according to an article.

All three men are in their early twenties and they are thought to be in the IS capital of Raqqa, Syria. According to security sources, MI5 are getting closer to discovering who the executioner, known only as ‘John’, could be.

Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, Abu Hussain Al-Britani and Abu Abdullah al-Britani have emerged as possible matches. Some of the men have similar voices, and even use similar language, to that used in the video, The Sun newspaper says.

The first suspect, 23-year-old Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, a former rapper from London, left a £1million home in Maida Vale, west London, saying he was ‘leaving everything for the sake of Allah’. The British jihadist has recently posted gruesome images online of himself posing with the severed heard of a Syria soldier.

The second suspect is Abu Hussain al-Britani, real name Junaid Hussian, a computer hacker who lived in Birmingham and was jailed in 2012 for stealing personal information from former Prime Minister Tony Blair. He later left for Syria, where it has been reported that he is contributing in jihadist cyber attacks on British banks.

The third possible match for ‘John’ is Abu Abdullah Al-Britani, who often uses Twitter to post pro-IS propaganda online. He is believed to be behind social media accounts attempting to recruit teenagers to join fighting in the Middle East.