/ 12 March 2007

BBC correspondent kidnapped in Gaza City

Unknown gunmen kidnapped BBC correspondent Alan Johnston in Gaza City on Monday afternoon, Palestinian security officials said.

Johnston, a two-year veteran of the Gaza Strip, was driving his rental car in the city’s upscale Remal neighbourhood when a white Subaru blocked his path.

He was forced out of his vehicle at gunpoint and made to accompany his abductors. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the abduction.

Johnston is the 18th journalist to be abducted in the salient in the past two years.

Most of the abductions have ended peacefully after several hours, and were carried out in order to draw attention to grievances the kidnappers had against their employers or against the Palestinian Authority. — Sapa-dpa