A previously unknown palestinian group has claimed it executed kidnapped BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston.
A Palestinian group calling itself the Al Tawhid Al Jihad brigade has issued a claim that it has killed BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston.
The BBC says it is aware of the reports and is deeply concerned, but stresses there is no independent verification.
In a statement faxed to news agencies, the group contrasts the attention given to Alan Johnston’s captivity with that given to Palestinians held in prison.
Mr Johnston was abducted as he returned home from his Gaza office on 12 March.
The BBC has issued a statement saying it is deeply concerned about what it is hearing.
“But we stress that at this stage,” it says, “it is rumour with no independent verification”.
The Palestinian Authority said it, too, had no information confirming the fate of Alan Johnston.
A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London said they were also aware of the reports and were urgently looking into them.
The group claiming to have killed Mr Johnston is apparently little known in the Palestinian context, the BBC’s Mike Wooldridge says.
Its name means Brigades of Holy War and Unity
According to Ha’aretz, the group may possibly be linked to Al Qaeda.
While I hope Mr Johnston is alive, if he was murdered, it will be interesting to see how the Britain’s National Union of Journalists will react, given their latest calls to boycott Israel. Charles believes they will find a way to blame Johnston’s death on Israel. I totally agree.
I also wonder whether the BBC will learn that when you go to bed with terrorists, you won’t always be sharing a post-coital cigarette. Sometimes, the terrorists will take the cigarette and set you alight with it.
