Islamic State militants on Monday released a video showing a British hostage in what appears to be the besieged Syrian city of Kobani, delivering a mock-up news report declaring that American-led airstrikes meant to to drive off the extremist Sunni Muslim attackers were failing.
The video, whose authenticity was under examination by the British government and other Western authorities, shows journalist-hostage John Cantlie delivering apparently scripted remarks as he walks and gestures in front of the camera, with what is purportedly the Turkish border – a short distance from the town --- visible in the background.
Thin, pale and lightly bearded, Cantlie is seen clad in a black shirt and trousers rather than the orange jumpsuit he and other hostages have been forced to wear in previous video appearances. The 43-year-old experienced war correspondent and photojournalist has been held hostage for almost two years.
The report opens with what is described as IS drone footage of the city. In calm though somewhat stilted tones, Cantlie declares: "The battle for Kobani is coming to an end. The mujahideen (IS fighters) are just mopping up now."
The Islamic State has released a succession of hostage videos in recent months, including ones showing the beheadings of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid workers Alan Henning and David Cawthorne Haines. An American aid worker, born Peter Kassig, has been designated by the group as the next to die on camera.
The latest video lasts just over five and a half minutes and is one of a series in which Cantlie has delivered remarks laying out a case against the actions of the British and U.S. governments. At one point he makes a reference to American-airdropped weapons intended for Kobani's Kurdish defenders, saying the bundles fell "straight into the outstretched arms of the mujahideen."
According to the U.S. military, these ammunition and medical supply packages were provided by Kurdish authorities in Iraq after supply routes were cut off by IS fighters.
In the recent video statement, peppered with mocking references to "good old (Secretary of State) John Kerry" and "Kurd-hating Turkish President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan," Cantlie asserts that Islamic State fighters have pushed deep inside the city. He said they now controlled its eastern and southern sectors, where they are engaging in house-to-house combat against Kurdish militia defenders.
"They are definitely not on the run," he said of the IS fighters.
The anti-IS coalition has launched hundreds of air strikes against the militant group in a bid to break its siege against the city. In the video, Cantlie declares that the campaign has had little effect on the Islamic State's fighters.
"Urban warfare is as about as nasty and tough as it gets, and it's something of a specialty of the mujahideen," he said.
The date of the footage could not be independently authenticated, but in it, Cantlie makes detailed reference to Western news reports and official statements within the past 12 days.
Special correspondent Bulos reported from Amman, Jordan.
Laura.King@latimes.com
Twitter: @laurakingLAT
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