Time running out for US hostage

Time was running out tonight for an American hostage facing death in Saudi Arabia.

Thousands of Saudi police were searching for defence contractor Paul Johnson, who was given 72 hours to live from Wednesday, unless al-Qaida prisoners were released.

Hopes for the safe return of the 47-year-old faded further today when it emerged that one of the lead kidnappers wrote in a recent memo that any extension of the deadline was forbidden.

“The ability of the team is then weakened and the tension increases, while the security efforts increase,” wrote Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin, al-Qaida’s top operative in Saudi Arabia.

If there is any “procrastination”, hostages should be killed “so the enemy knows we are serious about what we say”, he wrote.

Al-Muqrin has appeared on a video, showing Mr Johnson blindfolded, setting out his demands.

As well as demanding the prisoner releases, the kidnappers, calling themselves the Fallujah Squadron, also ordered that all westerners leave the Arab Peninsula.

It is not clear exactly when the 72 hours runs out, but Saudi and US authorities have refused to negotiate with the kidnappers or follow their demands.

Saudi police conducted overnight search operations in neighbourhoods of the capital Riyadh but found no sign of Mr Johnson.

Gunfire was reported during similar operations on Wednesday, when a house and mosque were searched.

A foreign policy adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, Adel al-Jubeir, said the outlook for Mr Johnson was bleak.

“There is really nothing more we can do. We’re looking for them. We are going after them, they are going after us,” he told ABC News.

“These criminals know what they’re doing. There will be no negotiations with them,” Mr Al-Jubeir said.

The FBI has sent a team of about 20 specialists in hostage rescue, hostage negotiations, profiling and other specialties.

They are working directly with Saudi officials.

More than 15,000 Saudi officers have been deployed in the search of Riyadh, going door-to-door in some neighbourhoods.

More than 1,200 Saudi homes had been searched as of Thursday night.

Mr Johnson’s Thai wife, Thanom, appealed for her husband’s release in an interview on the Saudi-owned satellite TV channel Al-Arabiya.

Mr Johnson, who worked in Saudi Arabia as an Apache helicopter engineer for Lockheed Martin, was shown on Tuesday on an Islamic extremist website blindfolded and in the custody of gunmen.

“I’m an American out of the United States. I work on an Apache helicopter,” he said in a faltering voice.

Mr Johnson spoke for 25 seconds on the four-and-a-half-minute video recording.