BBC reporter held on behalf of al-Qaida?

BBC reporter held on behalf of al-Qaida?
Group demands release of jihad prisoners, threatens to kill Johnston
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By Aaron Klein
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

TEL AVIV – There is growing fear among Israeli and Palestinian security agencies that kidnapped BBC reporter Alan Johnston is being held in the Gaza Strip on behalf of al-Qaida.

A number of elements in a video of Johnston obtained by government officials this week indicate the broadcast was produced by al-Qaida, security sources told WND.

Johnston was abducted from a street in the Gaza Strip March 12, marking the longest detention of any foreign correspondent held captive in Gaza.

Several videos have been released taking credit for Johnston's kidnapping on behalf of a group calling itself Army of Islam. The videos and statements faxed to news agencies demanded prisoners associated with al-Qaida be freed from British and Jordanian jails.

"Johnston will be slaughtered like a sheep if our demands are not met," said the latest Army of Islam statement, released this week.

The statement demanded Abu Mohammed al-Maqdisi, held in Jordan, be released. Al-Maqdisi is known as the spiritual mentor of al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

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