Sister of British man held hostage by Islamic State urges captors to resume talks

The sister of a British man held hostage by Islamic State (IS) militants fighting in Iraq and Syria has urged his captors to resume contact, saying that all communication with those holding him had ceased.

Journalist John Cantlie has appeared in a number of videos posted online by IS, which has beheaded four Western hostages. He was captured in northern Syria in November 2012.

Cantlie's sister, Jessica Cantlie, said she had been in contact with her brother's captors through an unspecified channel of communication, which was initiated by those holding him, but that recent messages had gone unanswered.

"We strongly challenge those holding John to return to your previously opened channel, to which we continue to send messages and await your response," she said in a statement released by the British Foreign Office.

She said the break in communication was similar to the approach used by IS in the cases of aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines, who were later shown being beheaded by militants in videos posted on the internet.

Earlier this month, Cantlie's terminally ill father issued a plea for his son's release.