Hostage ‘news report’ video says Islamic State close to taking Kobani

The battle for the Syrian city of Kobani took a grim new twist with the release of a video depicting a British journalist held captive by the militant group Islamic State delivering a “news report” from the border town, predicting imminent defeat for the Kurdish defenders and mocking U.S.-led airstrikes as ineffectual.

The use of hostage John Cantlie, a British photojournalist, to boast that Islamic State was tightening its grip on the besieged city marked a tactical departure for the Sunni Muslim extremists in their use of captives for propaganda purposes. It also pointed up the importance the group places on Kobani, which has become a symbol of its confrontation with a U.S.-led military coalition.

The video, whose authenticity was being examined by the British government and other Western authorities, shows Cantlie delivering apparently scripted remarks as he walks and gestures before the camera, with what is described as the Turkish border a short distance behind him. A Turkish flag is visible in the background in at least one shot, and the landscape and buildings appear to match those across the frontier, where journalists and refugees from Kobani have been watching some 40 days of fighting unfold.

Thin, pale and lightly bearded, Cantlie is clad in a black shirt and trousers rather than the orange jumpsuit he and other hostages have been forced to wear in previous Islamic State videos. The 43-year-old has been held hostage for almost two years.

The report opens with what is described as Islamic State drone video of the city. In calm though somewhat stilted tones, Cantlie declares: “The battle for Kobani is coming to an end. The mujahedin [Islamic State fighters] are just mopping up now.”

Reinforcements for the Kurdish defenders were reported to be en route from Iraq’s Kurdistan region Tuesday, though their arrival already had been delayed by several days. Thousands of cheering, flag-waving people gave a noisy send-off to 150 peshmerga fighters who left for Turkey en route to Kobani, the Associated Press reported from the Iraqi city of Irbil.

It remained to be seen whether Turkey, a reluctant ally of the U.S.-led coalition, would allow them passage despite a pledge to do so.

Islamic State has released several hostage videos in recent months, including ones showing the beheadings of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines. American aid worker Peter Kassig, who reportedly has taken the name Abdul-Rahman Kassig, has been designated by the group as the next to die on camera.

The latest video, lasting just over five and a half minutes, is one of a series in which Cantlie has delivered remarks laying out a case against the actions of the British and U.S. governments. At one point he makes reference to American airdrops of weapons intended for Kobani’s Kurdish defenders falling “straight into the outstretched arms of the mujahedin.”

The Pentagon has acknowledged that at least one pallet of weapons and supplies fell outside its intended drop zone, but described the contents as relatively insignificant in the fight.

In the video, peppered with mocking references to “good ol’ [Secretary of State] John Kerry” and “Kurd-hating Turkish President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan,” Cantlie asserts that Islamic State fighters have pushed deep inside the city. He said they now controlled its eastern and southern sectors, where they were engaging in house-to-house combat with Kurdish militia fighters.

“They are definitely not on the run,” he said of Islamic State’s fighters.

The date of the recording could not be independently authenticated. However, Cantlie makes detailed references to Western news reports and official statements within the last two weeks.

Times staff writer King reported from Cairo and special correspondent Bulos from Amman, Jordan.

Twitter: @laurakingLAT