Image caption The Free John Cantlie campaign said they hoped and prayed the reports of him being alive were true

A British hostage who was captured by the Islamic State group more than six years ago is thought to still be alive, the UK's security minister has said.

John Cantlie, a photojournalist from Hampshire, was kidnapped in Syria in 2012. He escaped, but was recaptured again several months later.

He was seen in an IS video published in March 2016.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the news was a surprise to Mr Cantlie's next of kin.

Previous statements by UK officials had hinted that the Briton was probably dead, and Security Minister Ben Wallace has not explained why he believes Mr Cantlie is still a captive.

There is no new evidence or intelligence to suggest he is alive, our correspondent said.

In a statement, a Home Office spokesperson said: "We do not discuss individual kidnap cases and speculation is unhelpful."

The Free John Cantlie campaign said they hoped and prayed the latest reports were true.

Mr Cantlie is the last remaining UK hostage held by IS.

His work has appeared in newspapers including the Sunday Times, the Sun and Sunday Telegraph.

He was captured first in July 2012 but escaped with help from the Free Syrian Army.

He was then kidnapped for a second time when he returned to the country towards the end of 2012. It is believed he was with US journalist James Foley, who was later killed.

In March 2016, a video appeared online apparently showing Mr Cantlie. In the clip, said to be filmed in Mosul in northern Iraq, Mr Cantlie ridicules US attempts to destroy IS.

News reports in July 2017, published shortly after Mosul had been retaken by Iraqi forces, suggested Mr Cantlie had been killed.

Later that year, in October, French magazine Paris Match quoted an IS fighter who said he had seen Mr Cantlie alive and working for IS seven or eight months ago.

Reports in January this year quoted a Syrian Democratic Forces official as saying Mr Cantlie may still be alive and in Hajin, in the east of the country, where the last pocket of IS forces was being contained.</s>British journalist John Cantlie is still alive and hostage of Islamic State, says minister

British journalist John Cantlie is still alive and hostage of Islamic State, says minister

John Cantlie, the British journalist taken hostage by Islamic State in Syria more than six years ago, is still alive, a government minister has said.

Security minister Ben Wallace made the claim during a briefing with foreign journalists in London that emerged on Tuesday but he gave no further details.

It is highly unusual for a government minister to comment on an ongoing hostage case.

Mr Cantlie, who fronted a number of English-language propaganda videos for his captors, has not been heard from in more than two years.

During that time a US-led coalition in support of Iraqi forces and Syrian militias has recaptured the majority of territory held by IS in Syria and Iraq.

A Twitter account set up by supporters of the photojournalist posted a message in response to Mr Wallace's comments.

"We are aware of the current news circulating that John Cantlie is alive, whilst this is not substantiated at present, we continue to hope and pray that this turns out to be true," the account, Free John Cantlie, tweeted.

Last month, an official with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, working to take back the final pockets of IS-held territory, said MrCantlie might still be alive in the area of Hajin town in the eastern Syria province of Deir Ezzor.

Mr Cantlie is thought to be the last known British hostage held by IS.

He was abducted in November 2012 alongside Jim Foley, an American journalist who was the first to be beheaded on video by a British IS member called Mohammed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John.

Emwazi was killed in a US drone strike in Syria in 2015.

Mr Cantlie wrote in an online IS magazine called Dabiq that he was detained with three American and two British hostages killed by Emwazi.

The three other suspected members of an IS hostage team dubbed the Beatles that tortured and beheaded hostages have themselves been detained.</s>LONDON (AP) - British Security Minister Ben Wallace has told journalists that the government believes British hostage John Cantlie is alive.

Wallace made the comments to journalists Tuesday. He did not say what intelligence supported the belief that the photojournalist, captured in northwestern Syria in November 2012, is still alive.

He did say officials believe Cantlie is being held by Islamic State operatives.

Cantlie was kidnapped by the Islamic State group along with American journalist James Foley, who was eventually beheaded by the extremists.

Cantlie has worked for several publications, including The Sunday Times, The Sun and The Sunday Telegraph.

Wallace said the British government's policy is not to pay ransoms for hostages.

FILE - This file image taken from video released on Wednesday Dec. 7, 2016 by the Islamic State's Amaq news agency, shows captive British photojournalist John Cantlie in what appeared to be central Mosul, Iraq. British Security Minister Ben Wallace told journalists on Tuesday Feb. 5, 2019, that the government believes British hostage John Cantlie is alive and believe he is being held by Islamic State operatives. (Islamic State's Amaq News Agency via AP, File)</s>LONDON — British Security Minister Ben Wallace has told journalists that the government believes British hostage John Cantlie is alive.

Wallace made the comments to journalists Tuesday. He did not say what intelligence supported the belief that the photojournalist, captured in northwestern Syria in November 2012, is still alive.

He did say officials believe Cantlie is being held by Islamic State operatives.

Cantlie was kidnapped by the Islamic State group along with American journalist James Foley, who was eventually beheaded by the extremists.

Cantlie has worked for several publications, including The Sunday Times, The Sun and The Sunday Telegraph.

Wallace said the British government’s policy is not to pay ransoms for hostages.</s>The British government believes photojournalist John Cantlie is alive more than six years after his abduction in northwestern Syria, Britain's security minister said Tuesday.

Security Minister Ben Wallace told journalists that officials think Cantlie is being held by Islamic State operatives, but he did not reveal what intelligence information supported the government's belief the British photojournalist still is alive.

Cantlie was kidnapped by the Islamic State group in November 2012 along with American journalist James Foley, who was eventually beheaded by the extremists.

Cantlie, who is in his 40s, appeared in Islamic State group propaganda videos, likely under duress. The extremists featured him as a spokesman in videos posted online by the group's followers and picked up by some TV stations and online outlets.

Before he was taken hostage, Cantlie worked for several British publications, including The Sunday Times, The Sun and The Sunday Telegraph.

Wallace said the British government's policy is not to pay ransoms for hostages.</s>John Cantlie, a British photojournalist abducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) in 2012, is believed to be alive more than six years after his capture, according to the UK security minister.

Ben Wallace was quoted by British and American media on Tuesday as saying he believes Cantlie is still being held by the armed group, which is now in retreat after controlling a vast territory in Iraq and Syria.

Wallace, who was last seen in an ISIL propaganda video in Mosul in 2016, did not say whether Cantlie is in Iraq or Syria.

Cantlie was one of about a dozen Westen hostages held by the group over the past six years. Several were killed, and others released after ransoms were paid.

The journalist has fronted a series of ISIL propaganda films but had not appeared in a video since 2016, raising fears that he might have been killed in coalition air raids against ISIL.

On Tuesday, the "Free John Cantlie" campaign said it was "aware of the current news circulating" that he is alive.

"Whilst this is not substantiated at present, we continue to hope and pray that this turns out to be true," the statement read.

In January, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) director, Mustafi Bali, was quoted as saying that Cantlie "is still alive and is moving around" the Syrian province of Deir Az Zor.

Cantlie is believed to be the last Western hostage held by ISIL in Iraq or Syria.

The ISIL group killed journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and aid worker Peter Kassig, who were all US citizens. British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines were also killed.

The masked man responsible for those killings, British national Mohammed Emwazi, was later killed in a US attack on the Syrian city of Raqqa.

Cantlie was first captured by an armed group in Syria in August 2012 but escaped, only to be captured again after another visit to the country in November 2012.

Austin Tice, a freelance journalist and veteran US Marine officer, was also taken in Syria in 2012, but it is unknown which group is holding him.</s>LONDON — The UK believes British hostage John Cantlie, captured by the Islamic State over six years ago, is alive, British Security Minister Ben Wallace said Tuesday.

Wallace did not say what intelligence supported the belief that the photojournalist, captured in northwestern Syria in November 2012, is still alive.

He did say officials believe Cantlie is still being held by Islamic State operatives.

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Wallace also noted the British government’s policy is not to pay ransoms for hostages.

A tweet on an account used by Cantlie’s family said: “We are aware of the current news circulating that John Cantlie is alive, whilst this is not substantiated at present, we continue to hope and pray that this turns out to be true.”

Cantlie was captured first in July 2012 but escaped with help from the Free Syrian Army. He was kidnapped again in Syria along with US reporter James Foley in November 2012.

Foley became the first of a string of foreign hostages to be slain in propaganda videos.

Cantlie, however, appeared in several subsequent videos released by IS in which he delivered jihadist propaganda to the camera in the style of a news report.

His last appearance was in a video shot during the battle for Mosul in 2016 in which he looked very gaunt and tired.

If alive, Cantlie would be the last remaining British hostage held by IS.

He has worked for several publications, including The Sunday Times, The Sun and The Sunday Telegraph.</s>LONDON — John Cantlie, a British photojournalist held hostage by Islamic State militants for years, might still be alive, a U.K. government minister said Tuesday.

Security Minister Ben Wallace told journalists that he believed the photographer may have survived, according to a spokesman for the Home Office — which is in charge of law and order.

The spokesman did not elaborate further.

Cantlie, who has appeared in ISIS propaganda videos during his years in captivity, worked for publications including The Sunday Times, The Sun and The Sunday Telegraph.

The British national was kidnapped with American journalist James Foley in November 2012.</s>John Cantlie has been held for more than six years FastFeatures.com

The British journalist John Cantlie, who was captured by Islamic State more than six years ago, may still be alive and in captivity, according to Ben Wallace, the security minister.

Mr Wallace told foreign journalists in London that the government believes Cantlie is still being held by the terror network more than two years after he was last seen in a propaganda video for the group.

The news came as a surprise to Cantlie’s family who tweeted: “We are aware of the current news circulating that John Cantlie is alive. While this is not substantiated at present, we continue to hope and pray that this turns out to be true.”

Mr Wallace did not provide any further evidence of Cantlie’s fate. Previous statements by British…</s>John Cantlie, the British journalist captured by the Islamic State (Isil) seven years ago, is believed to be still alive, a security minister has said.

Ben Wallace, minister for security, reportedly said the British government believes Mr Cantlie is alive and being held by the jihadist group.

It is the first official confirmation from the Government that the war photographer is thought to be alive. There was no immediate comment from the Cantlie family.

Mr Wallace, who spoke in a meeting with foreign journalists at the Home Office, would not say where the UK believes Mr Cantlie is being held.

He was kidnapped in Syria in 2012 alongside American journalist James Foley, who was later beheaded on camera.

Mr Cantlie was forced by Isil to front a series of propaganda videos where he spoke in English to the camera.
The United Kingdom Minister for Security, Ben Wallace, says he has reason to believe British photojournalist John Cantlie is still alive and is being held hostage by surviving Islamic State militants.