ISIS released a video on Thursday that shows a British journalist held hostage sitting at a desk sharing a message from the militant group, according to the New York Times.
In the video, which has now been removed from YouTube, reporter John Cantlie warned the U.S. and its allies against a war with ISIS.
Cantlie recounted how he was captured by the group and said that other European groups have been released since they paid cash ransoms to ISIS, unlike Britain and the U.S.
The journalist then said that the video was the first in a series in which he would deliver information about ISIS, according to the Times.
“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.’ Right? Well, it’s true. I am a prisoner, that I cannot deny,” Cantlie said in the video.
“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,” he continued. “Maybe I will live and maybe I will die, but I want to take this opportunity to convey some facts that you can verify. Facts that if you contemplate, might help preserving lives.”
Cantlie was a reporter for the Sunday Times, the Sun and the Sunday Telegraph. He was captured and then later freed by the Free Syrian Army. He then went back to Syria in 2012 along with James Foley, one the American journalists beheaded by ISIS.
The House voted on Wednesday to arm moderate Syrian rebels to help them fight ISIS, and the Senate is expected to approve the measure.
So ISIS will keep capturing people so they can fund their organization. It’s a vicious cycle.
I see why the US and Britain would not want to pay ransom. These people will never stop because financially things seem to be working in their favor.
Hey, all for someone delivering a briefcase full of ricin laced dollar bills with tracking threads in them to ISIL.