John Cantlie: ISIS releases second video of British hostage

ISIS militants have released a second video showing British journalist John Cantlie, who is being held hostage by the jihadist group.

It comes less than a week after John Cantlie’s first appearance on screen following his kidnapping in Syria in 2012.

The release of the video showing John Cantlie comes as the US and its allies launch the first air strikes against ISIS in Syria.

Islamic State has killed three Western hostages and has threatened to kill another.

On September 22, the US and several Arab allies launched the first air strikes against the militants in Syria. UK forces are not involved but the government says it has not ruled itself out.

An experienced journalist and photographer, this is John Cantlie’s second time being held captive in Syria. Having been kidnapped in July 2012 and handcuffed and blindfolded for a week, he escaped with the help from the Free Syrian Army.

John Cantlie returned to Syria towards the end of 2012 and it was during this trip that his second kidnap occurred.

The video, which lasts for almost six minutes, follows a similar pattern to the first video featuring the journalist.

It is introduced with the title Lend Me Your Ears and Messages From The British Detainee John Cantlie: Episode 1.

Dressed in an orange outfit like other ISIS hostages seen in videos, John Cantlie repeated that he had been abandoned by his government.

Reading from a pre-prepared script, John Cantlie also said Western governments “were caught napping by the sheer speed of the Islamic State’s growth” and they have underestimated “the strength and fighting zeal of the opponent”.

“Not since Vietnam have we witnessed such a potential mess in the making,” he says.

Islamic State has taken control of large areas of Syria and Iraq, imposed a harsh brand of Islam, and declared a caliphate.

The group has beheaded three Western hostages since August – US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British aid worker David Haines. Their deaths were all filmed and posted online.

In the latest video showing the killing of David Haines, the militants threatened to kill Alan Henning, a taxi driver. Alan Henning, from Eccles in Salford, was seized while on an aid mission to Syria in December.