emwazi has played in radicalizing individuals around the world and inspiring individuals to join their cause made him a threat not just to the region but to countries around the world. >> reporter: if confirmed, the strike would be a significant intelligence victory in a country where until recently the u.s. had thin intelligence assets. however, recent operations have killed three senior isis leaders. a special forces raid, recruiter in an air strike and now apparently jihadi john. >> there will always be somebody to take these people's place. yes, we should go after them, but we also have to realize that they're going to regenerate their leadership and they're going to bring people in we've never heard of before and the process starts over again. >> reporter: syria is what the intelligence community refers to as a hard target, not a lot of intelligence assets on the ground for the u.s.