A video apparently released by the Islamic State on Thursday shows a British journalist held hostage by the group who says he has been "abandoned" by his government and promises to reveal the "truth" about the militants.
The three-minute video, released on social media by the militant group, could not be verified immediately by USA TODAY. In it, John Cantlie sits in an orange jumpsuit with his hands clasped on a table and calmly discusses how the Western media "can twist and manipulate that truth for the public back home."
In one of the more chilling passages, Cantlie, who says he has worked for The Sunday Times, The Sun and The Sunday Telegraph in the United Kingdom, looks directly into the camera and says, "Now, 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.' Right?
"Well, it's true. 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."
Cantlie, who says he traveled to Syria in November 2012 and was subsequently captured by the Islamic State, goes on to say the news media are trying to "drag the public back to the abyss of another war" with the militant group.
"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," he says.
The Islamic militants have seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq, prompting the United States to launch airstrikes against the group's fighters and to organize an international coalition against the extremists.
The journalist also makes reference to other British and American citizens held hostage, saying he will show "the truth behind what happened when many European citizens were imprisoned and later released by the Islamic State, and how the British and American governments thought they could do it differently to every other European country.
"They (European countries) negotiated with the Islamic State and got their people home," he says, "while the British and Americans were left behind."
In the video, recorded with multiple cameras and titled "Lend Me Your Ears," Cantlie also alludes to additional videos being released in the future.
"There is time to change this seemingly inevitable sequence of events, but only if you, the public, act now," he says. "Join me for the next few programs and I think you might be surprised at what you learn."
Thursday's video comes on the heels of a recording released Saturday that showed the apparent beheading of British aid worker David Haines.
In the past month, two other videos showing the decapitations of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were also released by the Islamic State, which has also threatened the life of Alan Henning, another British national it is holding hostage.
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