New ISIS video uses Brit as mouthpiece
Report claims Islamic State released a new video in which captured journalist John Cantlie promises to expose the ‘truth behind Islamic State’
According to different reports, the Islamic State has launched a new video with captured journalist John Cantlie. But instead of decapitating their victim, the Islamic State indents to use him for promotional purposes.
Cantlie, a former war photographer and report for a number of UK publications, addresses the camera from behind a table in a dark room.
In the video, Cantlie says he was "abandoned" by the UK government and claims he will seek to counter the "manipulated truths" told by world media against the Islamic State in a number of videos.
"I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking ‘he’s only doing this because he’s a prisoner – he’s got a gun at his head and he’s being forced to do this,” Cantlie says.
"Well, I am a prisoner – that I cannot deny – but seeing as I’ve been abandoned by my government and my fate now lies in the hands of the Islamic State, I have nothing to lose."
"Over the next few programs, I am going to show you the truth as the Western media tries to drag the public back to the abyss of another war with the Islamic State," he concludes.
In the new video, titled "Lend Me Your Ears, Messages from the British Detainee John Cantlie," the man identified as Cantlie says he was captured by the Islamic State after arriving in Syria in November 2012.
He says he worked for newspapers and magazines in Britain including the Sunday Times, the Sun and the Sunday Telegraph.
"After two disastrous and hugely unpopular wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, why is it that our governments appear so keen to get involved in yet another unwinnable conflict?" the man says in the video.
Reuters contributed to this report
