Police declined to comment on the reports.

"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," said Commander Richard Walton of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command in a statement.

The Post quoted friends of Emwazi, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as saying they thought he had started to become radicalised after a planned safari in Tanzania following his graduation from the University of Westminster in London.

They said Emwazi and two friends - a German convert to Islam named Omar and another man, Abu Talib - never made it to the safari. On landing in Dar es Salaam, in May 2009, they were detained by police and held overnight before eventually being deported, they said.

No comment was immediately available from the University of Westminster.

The Post said counterterrorism officials in Britain detained Emwazi in 2010, fingerprinting him and searching his belongings.

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