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Islamic State hostages face ‘waterboarding’

The British hostage of Islamic State, John Cantlie has told how prisoners have been waterboarded for trying to escape in the latest video released by the terror group.

The 43-year-old British photojournalist, who has been held captive for over two years, appeared in the fifth episode of propaganda films entitled, Lend Me Your Ears.

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Its release comes just days after his father Paul Cantlie, 80, died from complications in the UK following pneumonia.

As in previous installments, he can be seen delivering his message under duress from behind a desk, wearing an orange jump suit and criticising the British and American governments.

In the film which lasts six and a half minutes, he appears to be reciting from a script.

“Now, unless we tried something stupid like escaping or doing something we shouldn’t, we were treated well by the Islamic State.

“Some of us who tried to escape were waterboarded by our captors, as Muslim prisoners are waterboarded by their American captors.”

He also reads from emails allegedly exchanged between IS and the families of American captives who complained about the US government’s refusal to negotiate their loved ones’ release.

Cantlie’s sister, Jessica Cantlie, has previously appealled for there to be “direct contact” with the militants holding him.

In his latest statement, Cantlie makes no reference to recent events and it is not clear when the footage was filmed.

He is reported to have written on the group’s English-language online propaganda site that he had recorded eight episodes which would be released one by one.

Cantlie, who has worked for newspapers including The Sunday Telegraph and The Sunday Times, signs off by saying that in the next installment he will talk about a failed rescue mission.

Since August, ISIL has filmed and posted online the deaths of four Western hostages.

UK aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines, and American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were beheaded on camera by the Jihadi organisation.

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