Alan Johnston AP PHOTO

The British Broadcasting Corp. said it could not confirm the claim by a previously unknown Palestinian group that it had killed Alan Johnston, the BBC's Gaza correspondent.

Johnston, 44, was abducted by gunmen after leaving his office in the coastal Palestinian territory on March 12. On April 16, a previously unknown group, "The Brigades of Tawheed and Jihad," said it had killed Johnston to support demands for the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The Japan Times Weekly: April 21, 2007
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