Journalist warns against rescue

IN a video released yesterday, a kidnapped British journalist appeared with what he said were explosives strapped to his body and warned his captors intend to set them off if rescuers attempt to free him by force.

The tape of Alan Johnston, called Alan’s Appeal, was put on a website used in the past by militant groups to post messages. It was made by the Army of Islam, a shadowy group that claimed responsibility for snatching Mr Johnston, a correspondent with the BBC, from a Gaza City street on March 12.

“Captors tell me that very promising negotiations were ruined when the Hamas movement and the British government decided to press for a military solution to this kidnapping,” Mr Johnston said, looking nervous and under stress. “And the situation is now very serious, as you can see.”

In the video of Mr Johnston the journalist is wearing a checked vest — apparently an explosives harness of the type used by suicide bombers.

“I have been dressed in what is an explosive belt, which the kidnappers say will be detonated if there is an attempt to storm the area,” he said. “They say they are ready to turn the hideout into what they describe as a death zone if there is an attempt to free me by force.”

Neither the British government nor the BBC have publicly advocated the use of force to free Mr Johnston. His father, Graham, said his family was “most concerned and distressed at this latest development” and pleaded for Alan to be freed unharmed.