Kidnapped journalist issues warning to rescue team
A new video of kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston shows him wearing an explosives vest and warning he will be blown up if Hamas continues to surround the area where he is being held, the US-based Intel Center said Sunday in an e-mail to news organizations.
The video was released by Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) of Gaza, the militant group that has been holding the journalist since March, the Intel Center said.
Only Johnston speaks on the video, which is entitled ‘Alan’s Appeal,’ the Intel Center said.
According to a transcript of Johnston’s remarks, the journalist says his captors ‘are ready to turn the hideout into what they describe as a death zone if there’s an attempt to free me by force.’
Hamas has threatened to use force and storm the premise if Johnston is not freed by Monday. Hamas gunmen have surrounded the area in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood where the group believed to be holding Johnston lives, reports in Israel have said.
Hamas is demanding the release of Johnston, 45, to prove it is able to impose law and order in the volatile coastal salient after ousting rival Fatah forces earlier this month.
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