IS releases video of British hostage

The Islamic State (IS) has released a video of a British hostage delivering a propaganda message on behalf of the militant group, a media report said Thursday.

In the video titled "Lend Me Your Ears", which the IS uploaded on YouTube, British press photographer John Cantlie is seen seeking public help to act to "change this seemingly inevitable sequence of events", by forcing the US and British governments to change their policies on hostage-taking.

He also admitted it was a desperate gamble to save his life, The Guardian reported.

"Now I know what you're thinking, you're thinking: 'he's only doing this because he's a prisoner. He's got a gun at his head and he's being forced to do this,' right?" he said in the video.

"Well, it's true I am a prisoner. That I cannot deny. But seeing as I've been abandoned by my government and my fate now lies in the hands of Islamic State, I have nothing to lose. Maybe I will live and maybe I will die, but I want to take this opportunity to convey some facts that you can verify. Facts that if you contemplate might help preserving lives."

Cantlie said the three-minute video was just the first of a series of "programmes" that he would be filming.

"I'm going to show you the truth as the Western media tries to drag the public back to the abyss of another war with the Islamic State," he said.

It is the second time that Cantlie has been held hostage by militants in Syria. He was rescued from his abductors in 2012, but four months later chose to return to the country, where he was abducted a second time and sold on to the IS.

The photographer's earlier ordeal lasted just seven days, but this time he has been held for 22 months, probably near Raqqa, the IS stronghold in the north of the country.