The Foreign Office is investigating reports that Britons are among Islamist fighters who abducted a British photographer and his Dutch colleague in northern Syria.
Jeroen Oerlemans
John Cantlie and Dutchman Jeroen Oerlemans were held by the Qaeda linked group a week after they accidentally came across their camp while crossing the border from south east Turkey to report on the Syrian Crisis.
During their time in captivity they were threatened with death unless they converted to Islam.
Both were shot and slightly wounded when they attempted to flee barefoot.
Mr. Cantlie has not yet spoken of his ordeal, but Mr. Oerlemans told Dutch media that some of the gang, which is reported to have been between 30 and 100 strong, had “Birmingham accents”.
A source close to the incident told The Sunday Telegraph that there possibly at least six men with British-sounding voices, including one with a heavy south London accent.
“Nobody is quite sure yet how many, but these people generally travel in small groups of about half a dozen,” the source said.
