New ISIS Propaganda Video Shows British Hostage John Cantlie Questioning Mosul University’s Bombing By US-Led Coalition

A new propaganda video by the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, shows British hostage John Cantlie discussing about U.S.-led coalition’s bombing in Mosul, the militant group’s stronghold in Iraq. The video, dated July 12, was released through ISIS official news agency Amaq.

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. The video appears to have been shot through a drone camera.

“If you look behind me you’ll see it’s been pretty much smashed to pieces. You have to ask yourself: Why did the Coalition decide to destroy the university? The level of destruction is absolutely massive. Mosul University was the biggest and finest in all of Iraq. If it was a military point or a weapons cache or a training ground for the Mujahideen perhaps you could understand — but it was simply Mosul's and Iraq's finest university, now reduced to a huge pile of rubble,” Cantlie said in the video.

In the video, the British photojournalist also shows a neighborhood, which he says was destroyed by coalition airstrikes. Thereafter, he shows people shopping for the Eid festival that marks the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which fell on July 7 in Iraq.

Cantlie has been held captive since November 2012 after being kidnapped in Syria along with American journalist James Foley, who was executed by ISIS in August 2014. In some previous videos released by the Sunni militant group, Cantlie has been seen wearing an orange jumpsuit and sending out his message — allegedly under pressure — from behind a desk.