Journalist John Cantlie, captured by ISIS in 2012, is still alive, UK minister says

John Catlie, pictured in an IS video
John Catlie, pictured in an IS video
By Euronews
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The journalist was last seen in a propaganda video at the end of 2016

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British journalist, John Cantlie, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012, is believed to be alive and still held by IS, a UK minister has said.

British security minister Ben Wallace did not offer any more details in a briefing to reporters.

Cantlie, was covering the conflict on a freelance basis when he was taken by militants alongside American journalist James Foley. Foley was later executed by the so-called Islamic State.

The group used Cantlie to present a series of propaganda videos for the group beginning two years after his capture. He has not been seen for three years.

Since then, the area controlled by IS has diminished in the face of attacks from Bashir Assad's Syrian government forces, backed by Russia and rebel fighters supported by the US. Its fighters are not confined to a small area on the border with Iraq and president Trump has declared them defeated, saying there is no longer any need for US troops in the region.

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