British hostage presents new IS propaganda video

A new propaganda video by Islamic State featuring British photojournalist John Cantlie, in which he says it is the “last film in this series”, has appeared online.

The high-quality documentary-style production is titled From Inside Halab, the ancient name for the Syrian city of Aleppo, with Mr Cantlie reporting on topics including education, drone strikes and Sharia law.

The hostage, who appears well in the film, dressed in black trousers and a brown coat, has been held captive for more than two years by IS militants and has featured in a range of videos, including a series titled Lend Me Your Ears.

He has also featured in two previous “Inside...” videos titled Inside Ayn al Islam, which is in Kobane, Syria, and Inside Mosul, the Iraqi city. In the latest video, Mr Cantlie says the “advance and stretch” of Islamic State is “remarkable and breathtaking”.

He says huge sections of Aleppo have been “smashed to rubble” by bombings by both the Syrian Army and US air forces. But he then moves on to show how the city is apparently still functioning well under IS rule with a “thriving economy”.

Mr Cantlie then reports on education being received by children under Islamic State.

He said: “One of the common accusations of the west is that under Islamic State education will suffer, religious studies and changes to the curriculum don’t quite fit their image of progressive schooling. But here in Halab, these young men here are learning Koran recital and languages and with any luck they will form the mujahideen for the next generation in this region.”

IS has posted a number of videos of hostages being murdered.