Sources: Militant in videos is Kuwaiti-born Londoner

Story highlights Advocacy group CAGE says it had contact with Mohammed Emwazi Reports: Militant known as Jihadi John is Mohammed Emwazi London's Metropolitan Police declines to confirm his reported identity

The Washington Post earlier reported that Emwazi is "Jihadi John," citing one of Emwazi's close friends.

A Muslim-led human rights advocacy group in London, CAGE, which had contact with Emwazi over alleged "harassment" by UK security services, also said in a statement there were "some striking similarities" between 26-year-old Emwazi and the man seen in execution videos holding a knife.

London's Metropolitan Police declined to confirm the reported identity. CNN has been unable to confirm the reporting.

"We have previously asked media outlets not to speculate about the details of our investigation on the basis that life is at risk," said Commander Richard Walton of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command.

"We are not going to confirm the identity of anyone at this stage or give an update on the progress of this live counter-terrorism investigation."

A UK Foreign Office spokeswoman told CNN: "We will neither confirm nor deny the current reporting as to the identity of Jihadi John."

The reporting in the Washington Post, and subsequently reported by Reuters, suggests Emwazi was from a middle-class family and grew up in London. He reportedly graduated from the University of Westminster in London with a degree in computer programming.

The Washington Post report, cited by Reuters, quoted unnamed friends of Emwazi as saying they believed his path to radicalization began when he went on a trip to Tanzania, in East Africa, in 2009 after graduating.

He was supposed to be going on safari there, but was reportedly detained on arrival, held overnight and then deported.

Read the original post:
Sources: Militant in videos is Kuwaiti-born Londoner