A team of international investigators funded by the British government is compiling evidence against Islamic State (IS) fighters in Iraq and Syria, reports the BBC.
The group have prepared over 400 cases for the prosecution of senior Islamic State leaders and fighters over the last few months.
The investigators working from a European city have avoided publicity until now.
Speaking to the BBC, a Chief Investigator revealed that they had received funding of £43,000 a month from the British government and employ sources in Syria and neighbouring countries to aid their work.
“What we are after are the highest-level members of IS because these individuals are just as responsible for the countless murders as those men who kill with their own hands. We would like to see the murders of James Foley brought to justice,” said the investigator.
"Our breakthrough came maybe two or three months ago when we looked at all the evidence that we'd gathered to date. We realised what we were looking at was not a militant organisation, we were witnessing the process of nation-building," he added.
The team said that it had boxes of smuggled evidence from Syria that consisted of documents, memory sticks and witness testimonies.
According to the investigators, almost 30,000 foreign recruits have joined the Islamic State militants. Around half of the 600 British nationals that travelled to Syria are thought to be back in the UK.
The group have prepared over 400 cases for the prosecution of senior Islamic State leaders and fighters over the last few months.
The investigators working from a European city have avoided publicity until now.
Speaking to the BBC, a Chief Investigator revealed that they had received funding of £43,000 a month from the British government and employ sources in Syria and neighbouring countries to aid their work.
“What we are after are the highest-level members of IS because these individuals are just as responsible for the countless murders as those men who kill with their own hands. We would like to see the murders of James Foley brought to justice,” said the investigator.
"Our breakthrough came maybe two or three months ago when we looked at all the evidence that we'd gathered to date. We realised what we were looking at was not a militant organisation, we were witnessing the process of nation-building," he added.
The team said that it had boxes of smuggled evidence from Syria that consisted of documents, memory sticks and witness testimonies.
According to the investigators, almost 30,000 foreign recruits have joined the Islamic State militants. Around half of the 600 British nationals that travelled to Syria are thought to be back in the UK.