ISIS brutally beheaded Foley in a widely circulated propaganda video released on August 19, 2014.
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While the seasoned journalist seems eerily poised in his report, it is widely assumed that Cantlie ― who has worked for outlets such as The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph and BBC ― is being forced to appear in propaganda videos under duress.
He slams then the coalition’s decision to carry out airstrikes on Iraq’s Mosul University, which he describes as the “finest in Iraq”, amid the sound of drones buzzing in the background.
British photojournalist John Cantlie poses for a photograph in London in an undated 2012 file photo. Today we are at Mosul University – or at least whats left of it.
“If you look behind me you’ll see its been pretty much smashed to pieces”.
‘The level of destruction is absolutely massive.
CNN confirmed the strikes with two sources: someone inside the university and with Athil Al Nujayfi, the former governor of Nineveh province, where Mosul is located. “But it was simply Mosul’s and in fact Iraq’s finest university, now reduced to a huge pile of rubble”.
Islamic State’s last known British hostage has appeared in a propaganda video aimed at opposing the continuing airstrikes against the militia.
He talks of “2,000lb bombs” destroying the academic building three months ago at 9am. “Normal, social everyday life has been destroyed and if you are going to destroy a university, why bother?” he says.
Accounts from former ISIS hostages of other nationalities, whose releases came after hefty ransoms were paid, detailed how Cantlie, Foley and others were physically and psychologically tortured at the hands of ISIS.
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In the three-minute video, Cantlie – who looks visibly thinner – is seen in front of the damaged University of Mosul, which was bombed by the coalition forces in March for allegedly using it to develop explosives and train militants.
