The Islamic State has released a new propaganda video featuring British hostage John Cantlie, in which he gives a tour inside the city of Mosul in Iraq.
The country's second largest city was captured by ISIS militants during a blitz in June when they murdered more than 2,000 Shiite prisoners and soldiers, according to Human Rights Watch.
In the bizarre documentary-style video, Mr Cantlie visits a souk (market place), a hospital and a police station and purports to paint life in the bomb-hit city as stable.
He is also seen driving a car and a police motorcycle during the eight-minute clip, which emerged on YouTube today.
It was released by the the group's foreign language division, AlHayat Media Center.
The photojournalist presents the clip in English, claiming life in Mosul is 'business as usual'.
During his tour of the city, he indicates that the month is December.
He repeatedly emphasises that the Western media's perception that the city is 'depressed' with people 'living in fear' is 'misleading'.
Mr Cantlie tells the camera: 'The media likes to paint a picture of life in the Islamic State as depressed, people walking around as subjugated citizens in chains, beaten down by strict, totalitarian rule.
'But really apart from some rather chilly but very sunny December weather, life here in Mosul is business as usual.'
He demonstrates the services provided by ISIS to citizens, contradicting reports about the lack of electricity and terrible living conditions.
He later disputes an article published in the Guardian in October last year under the headline: 'Citizens of Mosul endure economic collapse and repression under Isis rule'.
It reported that conditions inside Mosul, the largest city under Islamic State control, had dramatically deteriorated, according to residents.
It added there were 'severe shortages of food and water, no functioning public institutions, and the local economy in a state of near collapse.'
He disputes the bleak picture of life painted by the article, pointing to neon lights on display in the market.
'This is not an empty deserted place at all, it is bustling,' he adds.
And in one segment, Mr Cantlie sarcastically shouts at planes overhead, 'Here! Down here! Over here! You've come to rescue me again? Do something! Useless! Absolutely useless!'
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: 'We are aware of the release of another video and are studying its contents.'
Shiraz Maher, senior fellow at the Institute Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College London, wrote on Twitter: 'Of all the Cantlie videos, this one is definitely the strangest. The healthier appearance and civilian clothing are very peculiar.'
Recently, Mr Cantlie appeared to have written an article for the latest copy of the terror group's propaganda magazine.
The piece, entitled 'Meltdown', appeared at the end of the sixth issue of Dabiq magazine and praises the Islamic State's decision to start minting its own currency.
Mr Cantlie's name appears alongside the story, though it is not clear what role he had in writing it, or whether his byline was added to another person's work.
The 'special report' appears at the end of the magazine, and describes how the US dollar will collapse, before speaking about the benefits of using gold as currency.
The hostage has been held captive for more than two years by IS militants.
In previous instalments, he has delivered his message under duress from behind a desk and wearing an orange jumpsuit.
The
last video of the photojournalist released in November saw him give an
account of what he claims was a failed rescue attempt by American forces
in July.
In it, Mr Cantlie says he accepted 'long ago' that his fate is 'overwhelmingly likely' to be the same as other captives.
Other footage released by the group in October purported to show him in the embattled Syrian city of Kobani.
Mr Cantlie's father Paul, 80, died from complications following pneumonia last year. His sister, Jessica Cantlie, has previously appealed for 'direct contact' with the militants holding him.
Since August, IS has filmed and posted online the deaths of four Western hostages.
UK aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines and American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were beheaded on camera by the jihadi organisation, which is also known as Isis or Isil.
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