KIDNAPPED photojournalist John Cantlie has claimed the battle for the Syrian town of Kobani is "coming to an end" in the latest video released by the terror group.
The 43-year-old, who is being held by the Islamic State, said IS militants were "mopping up" against Kurdish fighters and it was not "all-out battle" contrary to Western media reports.
Dressed in black and speaking from Kobani, Mr Cantlie said Western media groups including the BBC, were reporting information from the White House and Kurdish army commanders, "neither of whom have the slightest intentions of telling the truth".
He said: "Now the battle for Kobani is coming to an end. The mujahideen are just mopping up now, street to street, and building to building. You can occasionally hear erratic gunfire in the background as a result of those operations.
"But contrary to what the Western media would have you believe, it is not an all-out battle here now. It is nearly over. It is very quiet, just the occasional gunfire.
"Two-hundred thousand inhabitants of the city have been displaced because of the fighting that came here. You can see the refugee camps over my right shoulder over there in Turkey, where the inhabitants now are. But contrary to media reports, the fighting in Kobani is nearly over
"Urban warfare is as about as nasty and tough as it gets, and it's something of a speciality of the mujahideen."
The five-minute video, entitled "Inside 'Ayn al-Islam", begins with an aerial shot of Kobani with the sound of gunfire.
Mr Cantlie is seen walking through the town on the Turkish border before standing on the roof of a building.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of a further video and we are analysing its contents."
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