The capture by Iraqi and Syrian forces of the Islamic State group's last bastions failed to clarify the fate of several foreign hostages thought to have been kidnapped by jihadists.
The Syrian city of Raqa, which US-backed forces retook in mid-October, was the group's inner sanctum and where many of the kidnapped foreigners were sequestered.

Following is what we know about John Cantlie, a British journalist who was kidnapped by IS five years ago on Wednesday, and about other foreigners still believed held or missing in Syria:

JOHN CANTLIE

British journalist John Cantlie was detained by the Islamic State group on November 22, 2012.

He was kidnapped along with US reporter James Foley, who became the first of a string of foreign hostages to be slain in gruesome 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 during the battle for Mosul late last year. He looked very gaunt and tired.

His current whereabouts are unknown and Cantlie's family have chosen discretion as a way of increasing his chances of survival.

GRIGORY TSURKANU AND ROMAN ZABOLOTNY

The pair, believed to be Russians, were captured in September or early October iDeir Ezzor province in eastern Syria.

Moscow never confirmed the identity of the two men, who appeared in an IS propaganda video. A Cossack group identified them as two veterans from southern Russia in their late thirties.

Some Russian media reports said they were mercenaries for a shadowy outfit called Wagner which has been sending ex-servicemen to fight alongside Syrian regime forces.

Source:AFP