Unmasked: ISIS executioner 'Jihadi John' has been identified as Mohammed Emwazi from west London . As a schoolboy growing up in west London, he enjoyed playing computer games and was a keen martial artist who friends remember as being light-hearted. But today, he is world's most reviled killer, revealed as a bloodthirsty executioner who revels in brutally taking the lives of innocent men in the most barbaric fashion. Mohammed Emwazi was today unmasked as the cowardly killer behind 'Jihadi John', the Islamic State's most notorious figure. Born in Kuwait, Emwazi first moved to Britain at the age of six. The son of a minicab driver, he was reported to have occasionally prayed at a mosque in Greenwich, south-east London. He is thought to have gone to Quintin Kynaston Academy in St John's Wood, north London, which was also attended by the pop singer Tulisa Contostavlos. The 26-year-old was a university student from London who was able to flee to Syria despite being on an MI5 terror watch list. It is understood he studied computer programming at the University of Westminster, and was often seen in the prayer room between classes. A source who claimed to have met Emwazi in Syria told Channel 4 News that he was a member of one of the earliest groups from London who travelled to fight for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate. He is believed to have been one of more than 700 foreign fighters in the Katiba al-Muhajireen (The Migrants Brigade) who arrived in the Middle East three years ago. Video shows Ibrahim al-Mazwagi, the first British jihadi known to have died in Syria, talking through his life in Syria with fellow fighters who proclaimed themselves a band of brothers. Scroll down for video . Terror: Emwazi is believed to have been one of more than 700 foreign fighters in The Migrants Brigade who arrived in the Middle East three years ago . Band of brothers: Emwazi was one of the first foreigners to arrive to fight in Syria, and teamed up with fellow fighters who proclaimed themselves a band of brothers . The source described him as personable, sometimes light-hearted but also extremely determined to ensure that jihadi fighters were seen in the media as people that the Western world must be afraid of. They also described Emwazi as a keen video games player and a martial arts practitioner. In a chilling twist, in a school yearbook from when he was 10, Emwazi lists his favourite computer game as shooting game "Duke Nukem: Time To Kill" and his favourite book as "How To Kill A Monster" from the popular children's Goosebumps series. He also lists his favourite band as pop group S Club 7, and when asked what he wants to be when he is 30, writes: 'I will be in a football team and scoring a goal.' Emwazi also listed his favourite colour as blue, his favourite animal as a monkey, his favourite cartoon as The Simpsons and chips as his favourite food. Ominously, they also described an occasion when Emwazi - as one of the best Arabic speakers in the brigade of foreign fighters - led the interrogation of a man who was questioned before being badly beaten. A teacher, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to Channel 4, said that she remembered Emwazi as a  'diligent, hardworking, lovely young man'. She described him as responsible and quiet, and added: 'There was never any indication of any kind of violence at all.' Emwazi has featured in the execution videos of British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, Japanese reporter Kenji Goto and Syrian soldiers. Horrifying: Jihadi John has featured in the execution videos of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, aid worker David Haines, 22 Syrian soldiers and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto (pictured) Emwazi claimed that MI5 persistently tried to recruit him after he graduated from university and also that counter-terrorism police arrested him in 2010 and put him on a terror watch list. But despite their best efforts, he managed to slip through the net of security service and managed to flee the country for Syria in 2012. Tonight, neighbours on the estate where the Emwazi family lived told of their shock that the world's most wanted man had lived amongst them. Home: Minicab driver's son Emwazi - who has three siblings - most recently lived at a flat in Queen's Park . On the scene: Police officers near the property where Emwazi once lived in Queen's Park, west London . Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: 'I don't know him but it is worrying that someone like that could live so close to home.' At the end of Emwazi's street is a mosque but worshippers there said they did not know him. Standing outside the North Westminster Muslim Cultural Association, student Omar Shafi, 18, said: 'I've lived here all my life, I know everyone in the community and I don't know Mohammed Emwazi. 'I've never seen him before, I've never heard of him before, the man's a ghost. I go to this mosque every day and I've never seen him and it's the mosque he would go to if he lived here.' Another man, a 26-year-old worshipper at the local mosque who asked not to be named, said: 'It's a tragic circumstance where someone without the right guidance can fall into these ideas of fanaticism like lambs to the slaughter. 'It's very worrying to have such people like that running around, and it has come as quite a shock to the system, that he could have been somewhere I go regularly too. 'I don't know him and I don't think I've ever seen him before and I'm glad I haven't. But this is a fungus in society that we need to stop.'
Mohammad Emwazi, from London, today unmasked as Jihadi John .
The 26-year-old played computer games and enjoyed martial arts .
He supported Manchester United, and loved S Club 7 and The Simpsons .
Born in Kuwait, but moved to Britain with his family at the age of six .
He was on a terror watch list, but managed to flee to Syria in 2012 .
There, he was radicalised and became a leader of the Islamic State .
He is now the world's most wanted killer for his brutal executions .
Unmasked: ISIS executioner 'Jihadi John' has been identified as Mohammed Emwazi from west London . As a schoolboy growing up in west London, he enjoyed playing computer games and was a keen martial artist who friends remember as being light-hearted. But today, he is world's most reviled killer, revealed as a bloodthirsty executioner who revels in brutally taking the lives of innocent men in the most barbaric fashion. Mohammed Emwazi was today unmasked as the cowardly killer behind 'Jihadi John', the Islamic State's most notorious figure. Born in Kuwait, Emwazi first moved to Britain at the age of six. The son of a minicab driver, he was reported to have occasionally prayed at a mosque in Greenwich, south-east London. He is thought to have gone to Quintin Kynaston Academy in St John's Wood, north London, which was also attended by the pop singer Tulisa Contostavlos. The 26-year-old was a university student from London who was able to flee to Syria despite being on an MI5 terror watch list. It is understood he studied computer programming at the University of Westminster, and was often seen in the prayer room between classes. A source who claimed to have met Emwazi in Syria told Channel 4 News that he was a member of one of the earliest groups from London who travelled to fight for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate. He is believed to have been one of more than 700 foreign fighters in the Katiba al-Muhajireen (The Migrants Brigade) who arrived in the Middle East three years ago. Video shows Ibrahim al-Mazwagi, the first British jihadi known to have died in Syria, talking through his life in Syria with fellow fighters who proclaimed themselves a band of brothers. Scroll down for video . Terror: Emwazi is believed to have been one of more than 700 foreign fighters in The Migrants Brigade who arrived in the Middle East three years ago . Band of brothers: Emwazi was one of the first foreigners to arrive to fight in Syria, and teamed up with fellow fighters who proclaimed themselves a band of brothers . The source described him as personable, sometimes light-hearted but also extremely determined to ensure that jihadi fighters were seen in the media as people that the Western world must be afraid of. They also described Emwazi as a keen video games player and a martial arts practitioner. In a chilling twist, in a school yearbook from when he was 10, Emwazi lists his favourite computer game as shooting game "Duke Nukem: Time To Kill" and his favourite book as "How To Kill A Monster" from the popular children's Goosebumps series. He also lists his favourite band as pop group S Club 7, and when asked what he wants to be when he is 30, writes: 'I will be in a football team and scoring a goal.' Emwazi also listed his favourite colour as blue, his favourite animal as a monkey, his favourite cartoon as The Simpsons and chips as his favourite food. Ominously, they also described an occasion when Emwazi - as one of the best Arabic speakers in the brigade of foreign fighters - led the interrogation of a man who was questioned before being badly beaten. A teacher, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to Channel 4, said that she remembered Emwazi as a 'diligent, hardworking, lovely young man'. She described him as responsible and quiet, and added: 'There was never any indication of any kind of violence at all.' Emwazi has featured in the execution videos of British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, Japanese reporter Kenji Goto and Syrian soldiers. Horrifying: Jihadi John has featured in the execution videos of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, aid worker David Haines, 22 Syrian soldiers and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto (pictured) Emwazi claimed that MI5 persistently tried to recruit him after he graduated from university and also that counter-terrorism police arrested him in 2010 and put him on a terror watch list. But despite their best efforts, he managed to slip through the net of security service and managed to flee the country for Syria in 2012. Tonight, neighbours on the estate where the Emwazi family lived told of their shock that the world's most wanted man had lived amongst them. Home: Minicab driver's son Emwazi - who has three siblings - most recently lived at a flat in Queen's Park . On the scene: Police officers near the property where Emwazi once lived in Queen's Park, west London . Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: 'I don't know him but it is worrying that someone like that could live so close to home.' At the end of Emwazi's street is a mosque but worshippers there said they did not know him. Standing outside the North Westminster Muslim Cultural Association, student Omar Shafi, 18, said: 'I've lived here all my life, I know everyone in the community and I don't know Mohammed Emwazi. 'I've never seen him before, I've never heard of him before, the man's a ghost. I go to this mosque every day and I've never seen him and it's the mosque he would go to if he lived here.' Another man, a 26-year-old worshipper at the local mosque who asked not to be named, said: 'It's a tragic circumstance where someone without the right guidance can fall into these ideas of fanaticism like lambs to the slaughter. 'It's very worrying to have such people like that running around, and it has come as quite a shock to the system, that he could have been somewhere I go regularly too. 'I don't know him and I don't think I've ever seen him before and I'm glad I haven't. But this is a fungus in society that we need to stop.'
enjoyed playing computer games and was a keen light-hearted. But today, he is world's most fashion. Mohammed Emwazi was today unmasked as the cowardly killer behind 'Jihadi John', the Islamic State's most notorious figure. Born in Kuwait, Emwazi first moved to Britain at the age of six. The son of a minicab driver, he was The 26-year-old was a university student from London who was able to flee to Syria despite video games player and a martial arts favourite band as pop group S Club 7, and when 2010 and put him on a terror watch list. But to flee the country for Syria in 2012. Tonight,