A British photojournalist has spoken for the first time about his capture and wounding by Islamist militants in northern Syria last month.
John Cantlie and Dutchman Jeroen Oerlemans were held for a week before being rescued by a Free Syrian Army group, part of the opposition trying to overthrow Bashar al-Assad.
Cantlie said they were "constantly threatened with death" and both were shot and wounded during an abortive barefoot escape attempt.
"My feet, cut pretty badly when we attempted to escape over granite boulders and shrubs, are healing quickly, while the left hand is still problematic," said Cantlie, a troublespot veteran.
"We were both shot during our dash for freedom (it was doomed from the outset but we both wanted to give it a go) Jeroen in the hip and me in the arm. My ulna nerve was damaged and I've lost feeling in about 30% of my left hand."
But he had had surgery from "a great doctor called David Gately" on Wednesday and "we hope to get some of the feeling back", Cantlie wrote on his website.
Oerlemans, who was wounded in the thigh, spoke last week of the pair's experience. He said there was no Syrian in the group that captured them on 19 July. "They were all youngsters from other countries, African countries, Chechnya. They said they thought we were CIA agents. But then it quickly became apparent they wanted to trade us for ransom."
Cantlie, who said he would be writing about the capture in the Sunday Times this weekend, gave an early flavour of what happened, even if "what we went through was nothing". He continued: "People are kidnapped and held for ransom for months, even years. Our ordeal was just one week, but it was the most intense, fearful week of my life.
"Those bastards constantly threatened us with death, always cocking their weapons, getting us to stand as though we were being led out for execution, sharpening knives for a jihadist beheading and generally playing with our minds. When you're constantly handcuffed and blindfolded in a stinking tent in 35 degrees and covered in flies, the imagination can run riot."
Cantlie paid tribute to the "immense" support, unbeknown to the pair at the time, from family, friends, colleagues and the Foreign Office. "It was a week you would describe as less than ideal.
"It's not just the person who's kidnapped that suffers, either. It's their whole circle of friends, family and colleagues."
He added: "Right now I'm out of the game. Both Jeroen and I had all our kit taken, both of us had around £8,000-worth of equipment and I can't afford to replace mine.
"We'll see what happens, but this experience has only made me wiser. I'm desperate to get back into Syria and work alongside those gracious, hospitable people as they pursue their dreams of revolution. Lord knows they've earned it."
Cantlie did not describe their rescue but Oerlemans has said that the two men were in a tent, blindfolded, when they heard a group of men he assumed to be from the Free Syrian Army come in. "They were shouting at everyone, saying, 'How long has this been going on; this is outrageous,' yelling at the jihadis, and then they told us, 'You are free.' Our hearts leapt, of course."
This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk
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