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| John Cantlie, Photographer Held by ISIS for 6 Years, Is Still Alive, U.K. Says | John Cantlie, Photographer Held by ISIS for 6 Years, Is Still Alive, U.K. Says |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| HASAKA, Syria — More than six years after he was abducted in Syria by jihadists, John Cantlie, a British journalist, is believed to be still alive, a British government official said on Tuesday. | HASAKA, Syria — More than six years after he was abducted in Syria by jihadists, John Cantlie, a British journalist, is believed to be still alive, a British government official said on Tuesday. |
| Mr. Cantlie has been seen in several propaganda videos made by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, but the last one was released more than two years ago. On Tuesday, Ben Wallace, Britain’s minister for security, told journalists at a Home Office briefing that Mr. Cantlie was thought to be alive, though he did not disclose how the government might have knowledge of his condition. | Mr. Cantlie has been seen in several propaganda videos made by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, but the last one was released more than two years ago. On Tuesday, Ben Wallace, Britain’s minister for security, told journalists at a Home Office briefing that Mr. Cantlie was thought to be alive, though he did not disclose how the government might have knowledge of his condition. |
| The Islamic State held Mr. Cantlie in a series of locations before moving him to a prison next to an oil installation near the Syrian city of Raqqa, where he became one of 23 Western captives held at the site in two cells, divided by sex. If he is still alive, he is one of the few people who might be able to tell what became of other inmates in the underground gulag that held them, including many hostages whose families know little about their fates. | The Islamic State held Mr. Cantlie in a series of locations before moving him to a prison next to an oil installation near the Syrian city of Raqqa, where he became one of 23 Western captives held at the site in two cells, divided by sex. If he is still alive, he is one of the few people who might be able to tell what became of other inmates in the underground gulag that held them, including many hostages whose families know little about their fates. |
| Mr. Cantlie, a freelance photographer, was taken hostage in November 2012, along with the American journalist James Foley, who filed for GlobalPost and Agence France-Presse. After leaving an internet cafe in the Syrian town of Binesh, they drove toward Turkey, but armed men forced them to stop 25 miles short of the border and abducted them. | Mr. Cantlie, a freelance photographer, was taken hostage in November 2012, along with the American journalist James Foley, who filed for GlobalPost and Agence France-Presse. After leaving an internet cafe in the Syrian town of Binesh, they drove toward Turkey, but armed men forced them to stop 25 miles short of the border and abducted them. |
| A majority of the Europeans, including French and Spanish citizens, were released for multimillion-euro ransoms paid by their governments. But Britain and the United States are among the few countries that hew to a strict policy of not paying for hostages, arguing that doing so finances terrorist groups and encourages more kidnappings. | A majority of the Europeans, including French and Spanish citizens, were released for multimillion-euro ransoms paid by their governments. But Britain and the United States are among the few countries that hew to a strict policy of not paying for hostages, arguing that doing so finances terrorist groups and encourages more kidnappings. |
| When it became clear that neither country would pay for its citizens, the militants began killing them, starting with Mr. Foley, who was beheaded with a knife in 2014, a killing shown in a gruesome video released by the Islamic State. | When it became clear that neither country would pay for its citizens, the militants began killing them, starting with Mr. Foley, who was beheaded with a knife in 2014, a killing shown in a gruesome video released by the Islamic State. |
| In total, three Americans and three Britons were killed the same way, and recordings of their deaths sent shock waves around the world and pushed the Obama administration to intervene in a conflict it had tried to avoid. | In total, three Americans and three Britons were killed the same way, and recordings of their deaths sent shock waves around the world and pushed the Obama administration to intervene in a conflict it had tried to avoid. |
| Mr. Cantlie escaped that fate, and instead he was used — presumably under duress — in Islamic State propaganda videos, releasing a “lecture series” in which he criticizes the Western response to the group. | Mr. Cantlie escaped that fate, and instead he was used — presumably under duress — in Islamic State propaganda videos, releasing a “lecture series” in which he criticizes the Western response to the group. |
| In one, he is seen in an orange jumpsuit, discussing the fates of his cellmates. In others, he is wearing civilian clothes and is presented as a war correspondent holding a microphone, but he appears increasingly gaunt and pale, suggesting mistreatment. | In one, he is seen in an orange jumpsuit, discussing the fates of his cellmates. In others, he is wearing civilian clothes and is presented as a war correspondent holding a microphone, but he appears increasingly gaunt and pale, suggesting mistreatment. |
| He was last seen in video recorded during the battle to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State control in December 2016. At the scene of an attack in which the militants had wiped out a group of Iraqi soldiers in armored vehicles, Mr. Cantlie was shown walking through the carnage, at one point making fun of the dead. | He was last seen in video recorded during the battle to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State control in December 2016. At the scene of an attack in which the militants had wiped out a group of Iraqi soldiers in armored vehicles, Mr. Cantlie was shown walking through the carnage, at one point making fun of the dead. |
| “This used to belong to an Iraqi soldier,” he remarked as he passed a helmet lying on the ground. “I don’t think he’s going to be needing it now, huh?” | “This used to belong to an Iraqi soldier,” he remarked as he passed a helmet lying on the ground. “I don’t think he’s going to be needing it now, huh?” |
| But since then, there has been no sighting of him and many believed him to be dead. | But since then, there has been no sighting of him and many believed him to be dead. |
| The Islamic State, which at its height controlled large parts of Iraq and Syria, is pinned down in a 1.5-mile-wide outpost in the village of Baghuz, in a bend in the Euphrates River in northeastern Syria. | The Islamic State, which at its height controlled large parts of Iraq and Syria, is pinned down in a 1.5-mile-wide outpost in the village of Baghuz, in a bend in the Euphrates River in northeastern Syria. |
| Officials with an American-backed, Kurdish-led militia fighting to capture that stronghold said on Tuesday that they did not know if Mr. Cantlie was alive, but they confirmed that the Islamic State was holding numerous other hostages, including dozens of the militia’s own soldiers. | Officials with an American-backed, Kurdish-led militia fighting to capture that stronghold said on Tuesday that they did not know if Mr. Cantlie was alive, but they confirmed that the Islamic State was holding numerous other hostages, including dozens of the militia’s own soldiers. |
| That has meant that the operation to take the area has stalled, as military commanders struggle with how to move forward without endangering the lives of either the hostages or the civilians trapped inside that pocket. | That has meant that the operation to take the area has stalled, as military commanders struggle with how to move forward without endangering the lives of either the hostages or the civilians trapped inside that pocket. |
| In announcing a decision to withdraw American forces from Syria, President Trump suggested in December that the group had been defeated, though he and other officials later qualified that assertion and delayed the pullout. He and members of his administration have described the group as “defeated,” “wiped out,” “absolutely obliterated” and “in its final throes.” | In announcing a decision to withdraw American forces from Syria, President Trump suggested in December that the group had been defeated, though he and other officials later qualified that assertion and delayed the pullout. He and members of his administration have described the group as “defeated,” “wiped out,” “absolutely obliterated” and “in its final throes.” |
| The Islamic State is at its lowest point in years by nearly every measure — the area it holds, the attacks it carries out, the number of foreign fighters it recruits. But analysts who study the group point out that it remains far more powerful today than it was when the United States withdrew its troops from Iraq in 2011. | |
| In Senate testimony on Tuesday, Gen. Joseph Votel, chief of United States Central Command, said that “hard-fought battlefield gains can only be secured by maintaining a vigilant offensive against a now largely dispersed and disaggregated ISIS that retains leaders, fighters, facilitators, resources.” | In Senate testimony on Tuesday, Gen. Joseph Votel, chief of United States Central Command, said that “hard-fought battlefield gains can only be secured by maintaining a vigilant offensive against a now largely dispersed and disaggregated ISIS that retains leaders, fighters, facilitators, resources.” |
| British officials have said that, out of about 900 British citizens thought to have traveled to the conflict zone in Syria, presumably to join the Islamic State, about 20 percent died there, around 40 percent returned and the rest are still there. | British officials have said that, out of about 900 British citizens thought to have traveled to the conflict zone in Syria, presumably to join the Islamic State, about 20 percent died there, around 40 percent returned and the rest are still there. |
| Western analysts say that as many as 30,000 former Islamic State militants have not been killed or captured, and that many of them are still in the region, having gone into hiding or, by all appearances, returned to civilian life. A crucial, unanswered question for the region’s security is what they would do if the group made a comeback. | Western analysts say that as many as 30,000 former Islamic State militants have not been killed or captured, and that many of them are still in the region, having gone into hiding or, by all appearances, returned to civilian life. A crucial, unanswered question for the region’s security is what they would do if the group made a comeback. |
| At the briefing on Tuesday, Mr. Wallace, the British security minister, said fighters for the group were continuing to seek havens in Libya, Somalia, and sub-Saharan Africa. | At the briefing on Tuesday, Mr. Wallace, the British security minister, said fighters for the group were continuing to seek havens in Libya, Somalia, and sub-Saharan Africa. |
| The group was “massively downgraded,” he said, but “had not gone away.” | The group was “massively downgraded,” he said, but “had not gone away.” |