Islamic State Posts Video of British Hostage John Cantlie

Islamic State militants released a video Sunday showing British journalist John Cantlie who has been  held hostage by the group for almost two years.  

Speaking under duress in the seven minute video,  John Cantlie said that the Islamic State was  "dug in for the fight." 

Wearing an orange jumpsuit akin to the ones worn by other hostages kidnapped by the Islamic State, Cantlie said that the west was being rushed into a war in which it cannot achieve victory.

Elaborating further, he said that a horrible surprise awaits the people who hope for a neat surgical operation without getting their hands dirty in the war.

Cantlie, who was kidnapped 22 months ago after entering Syria  as a freelance photojournalist,  described the beheadings of his fellow hostages Steven Sotloff and Alan Henning as a 'win win" for the Islamic State.

 He said: "If these executions force public outcry or a policy change that is a huge victory. And if they only goad our governments into dropping more bombs and spending millions more dollars, making our countries weaker in the process, that is a victory too," reports The Guardian.

The release of the video coincides with the publication of an English language magazine called Dabiq, produced by the Islamic State.  The magazine also contains an article written by Cantlie in which he describes the gruesome details about his life in captivity.

In the article titled "Hard Talk- The Real Story Behind My Videos", Cantlie says that he was put in a dark room which had nothing but a mattress on the floor

"I try to stay very calm, tolerant and accepting of my situation ... I am thankful for any comfort I receive and for every plate of food I get," he said in the article.

According to a witness, Cantlie was made to stand for three days continuously by his kidnappers. He was also water boarded and subjected to electric shocks, the witness said, reports mirror.co.uk.