IS 'Beatles' in court over US hostages' deaths
Two ex-British alleged Islamic State (IS) suspects have appeared in a US court charged over the killing of four American hostages.
Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are accused of owned by an IS cell dubbed "The Beatles" involved with kidnappings in Iraq and Syria.
The pair appeared via video link from prison at a hearing in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.
The men, who was simply in US custody in Iraq, previously denied the charges.
A detention hearing and arraignment were scheduled for Friday however the legal professional appointed to represent the pair, who was raised in London, said he could ask for a delay to permit time to debate the charges with the defendants.
US Assistant Attorney General John Demers told a press conference the charges were "the consequence of many years of hard work in pursuit of justice" for the four Americans who died - James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig.
Addressing the groups of the victims, he said: "Although we cannot bring back your children, we can do all that we can do: obtain justice for them, for you personally, and for all Americans."
He added: "These men will now be brought before a USA court to handle justice for the depraved acts alleged against them in the indictment."
The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The pair are alleged to have already been members of an IS gang - nicknamed by hostages after the 1960s pop group because of their British accents - that was in charge of the death of hostages in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
A few of the victims - who included American journalists and UK and US aid workers - were beheaded and their deaths filmed and broadcast on social media.
James Foley's mother, Diane Foley, said the charges were "only a first step" and that she was "praying that justice will be served".
She added that she hoped the trial might "implicate others" and lead to further arrests.
Kotey and Elsheikh, at first from west London, were previously stripped of their UK nationality.
