Screen shot shows Mardan Maolahong, a former member of an overseas terrorist cell, lost his lower right leg during combat.

During his time with the cell, Mardan was injured and his lower right leg had to be amputated. His uncle was killed by the local army.

He was also forced to marry the widow of a cell member who had been killed in combat. Mardan said he always wanted to marry for love, but that became impossible when he joined the cell.

After the surgery, Mardan was given a highly classified job as a member of the cell's publicity department, tasked with helping to make recruitment videos.

According to Xinjiang police, almost all violent attacks in the region have been carried out by people who have viewed violent terrorist videos, many of which were produced by the cell to which Mardan belonged.

"I shot a lot of video footage, but those in charge never showed us the edited versions because assistants don't have clearance," Mardan said.

The videos showed well-equipped cell members, but the reality was very different. "That footage was staged. We bought camouflage uniforms at the local markets and asked cell members to wear them solely for the purposes of the video," he said.

According to Mardan, the cell rarely carried out activities during daylight hours for fear of being targeted by anti-terrorist units, and the "achievements" featured in the films were exaggerated. Some footage was simply downloaded from the Internet.

"For example, videos claimed we took over a prison or liberated some place, but nothing like that actually happened. We only said those things to lure other people from Xinjiang to join us," he said.

"Many people joined us between 2012 and 2013 because they had watched the videos," he said. "After a while most regretted their actions because the reality was so different from what they'd seen in the videos".

Mardan escaped from the cell last year. He didn't provide details during the interview, but said he is truly repentant.

"I didn't know the difference between right and wrong until it was too late. I wasted the best years of my life in a terrorist cell when I could have been doing something truly meaningful," he said.