Mohammed Emwazi, the ISIS fighter nicknamed "Jihadi John" by western media, once said 9/11 was wrong and carried out by "extremists".
According to audio released by advocacy group Cage on Tuesday morning, Emwazi told an MI5 agent that he disagreed with the actions of al-Qaeda and those it inspired.
Emwazi, who has featured in several ISIS propaganda videos wielding a knife and threatening to kill hostages, purportedly made the comments in a 2009 interview.
The Guardian reported that the conversation took place after Emwazi had been taken from Tanzania to the Netherlands by British security services. The clip appears to confirm that the British authorities feared he was about to travel to Somalia to join the Islamist group al-Shabab, and that he had been monitored by them for at least six years.
Cage, which released email correspondence with Emwazi last week, argues that the intervention of British securities helped to radicalise him.
Emwazi's real identity was revealed last week, when it emerged that he grew up in west London and attended the University of Westminster.
According to the audio, this is what Emwazi had to say to the MI5 man:
Here is an edited transcript:
After the interview, right at the end, he said, "I want to ask you some serious questions now." And while I'm packing my bag, this is while I'm packing some of my stuff, I said, "Yeah, go on, ask."
And he said, "No, no, I'd like you to sit face to face and I'm going to ask you these questions." And I said "Wow, these must be some serious questions now, let's get down to it".
He said: "Muhammed. What do you think about 7/7?"
I said: "Man, what a... innocent people have been... have died, what do you think, man? I think it's extremism!"
He said: "OK, what do you think of the war in Afghanistan?"
I said: "What do I think? You know, we see the news [that] innocent people are getting killed."
And he started telling [asking] me, "What do you think of 9/11"
I think I told him: "This is a wrong thing. What happened was wrong. You know, what do you want me to say? If I had the opportunity for those lives to come back, I would make those lives come back. I think what happened was wrong."
And then he asked me what I think of the Jews. I told him they're a religion. Everyone's got his right to his own beliefs. I don't force no one.
He wants to know about my background, about my creed. I told him this is how Islam is, we don't force anyone to come into religion, you know, everyone's got their own right.
And I told him everything that's been happening is extremism – anything like bombs or whatever that's been happening is from extremists.
And after all of this he looked at me and he said "I still believe that you're going to Somalia to train [as a terrorist]."
I said, "After what I just told you, after, you know, I told you that what's happening is extremism, this and that ... you're still suggesting that I'm extremist?"
And he said yeah, and started going on, trying to put words in my mouth saying, no, you're doing this, this, this, and, "We're gonna keep a close eye on you Mohammed, we already have been."