The military wing of the Hamas movement on Friday called for the immediate release of British journalist Alan Johnston, who has been held captive in Gaza City for more than three months, according to dpa. The BBC reporter should no longer be held hostage, said Abu Obaida, a spokesman for the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas. Forty-four-year-old Johnston was kidnapped at gunpoint in Gaza City on March 12. A radical faction that takes cover from a big clan claimed responsibility for holding him. Hamas' plea came after the movement took control of the Gaza Strip following days of bloody fighting against forces loyal to the Fatah movement headed by President Mahmoud Abbas.
