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Gaza Group Issues Demands for Abducted BBC Reporter

[Reuters/Washington Post] Nidal al-Mughrabi - A little-known Islamist group claimed responsibility in an audio recording Wednesday for abducting the BBC's Gaza correspondent, issuing demands immediately rebuffed by the Palestinian government. As evidence that it is holding correspondent Alan Johnston, the group posted a photo of his BBC identification card on the Internet. The posting appeared to be the first tangible evidence that Johnston, who disappeared on March 12 while driving his car in the Gaza Strip, had been kidnapped. "We demand that Britain free our prisoners, particularly the honorable Sheikh Abu Qatada al-Filistini," said a speaker on the audio recording, posted on the Internet by a group that calls itself the "Jaysh al-Islam," or Army of Islam. Abu Qatada, a radical Islamic cleric suspected of close links to al-Qaeda, has been described by the British government as a "significant international terrorist." The recording was posted on an Islamist website often used by al-Qaeda and other militant groups. The Army of Islam was one of three Palestinian groups, including Hamas' armed wing, that were involved in last June's seizure of an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid from Gaza.
2007-05-10 01:00:00
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