The UK Minister's office has announced that it still believes that John Cantlie is still alive. Cantlie was kidnapped, along with American journalist James Foley, by ISIS members in 2012. The British photojournalist has since been held hostage by the Islamic State militant group since then.
Cantlie has appeared in various ISIS propaganda videos ever since he was kidnapped. Although, the last time he was seen alive was from an ISIS video that was released in 2016. Foley was unfortunately beheaded just two years after he and Cantlie were kidnapped.
UK Security Minister Ben Wallace told reporters that they do have reason to believe that Cantlie may still be alive. Cantlie is a well-known photojournalist who previously worked for large UK publications, including The Sun, The Sunday Telegraph, and The Sunday Times.
Wallace did not elaborate on the reasons why they still believe Cantlie still lives, but the British Intelligence may have valid evidence to support their claim. Reports have speculated that the UK minister wouldn't have made such bold claims if it didn't have any firm evidence to back it up. The UK may have intercepted some piece of communication or they could have gotten a statement from one of the many foreign ISIS fighters that have been brought back to Europe.
While the United States claims that ISIS may be on the brink of defeat, the UK still is not convinced given their recent actions. Several ISIS territories in the Middle East have recently been captured by United States troops and its allies, but the militant group is still in participating in active operations.
The last video that showed Cantlie still alive indicated that he was somewhere around Mosul in northern Iraq. The entire area was taken back from ISIS control in a bloody siege in 2017. Iraqi media then released a report revealing that Cantlie was allegedly killed during an airstrike during the battle to capture the city. A few months later, a captured foreign ISIS fighter who came to the country from France, told reporters that he had seen Cantlie just recently inside an ISIS stronghold in Syria. Syrian Democratic Forces also released a statement to the public indicating that they may have located Cantlie and that he may be held somewhere in the eastern province of Deir Ez-Zor.
Family and friends back in the UK still continue to hope for Cantlie to be released from captivity. An online campaign called Free John Cantlie continues to post appeals and messages online to try and keep his memory alive and to push the UK government to pursue immediate action.
