Free Republic

(IsraelNN.com) A new Islamist jihad group that may become as much of a threat to Hamas as it is to Israel is gaining strength in Gaza. The Gaza-based group of Salafi Muslims, known as the Army of Islam (Jaish al-Islam), first made headlines a year ago when it kidnapped British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reporter Alan Johnston near his Gaza City bureau office. "It was nothing personal," commented their leader, Abu Mustafa, in an interview published over the weekend by the German Der Spiegel. "It was a message to the West that they should release imprisoned Muslims." He added that at...

(IsraelNN.com) A new Islamist jihad group that may become as much of a threat to Hamas as it is to Israel is gaining strength in Gaza. The Gaza-based group of Salafi Muslims, known as the Army of Islam (Jaish al-Islam), first made headlines a year ago when it kidnapped British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reporter Alan Johnston near his Gaza City bureau office. "It was nothing personal," commented their leader, Abu Mustafa in an interview published over the weekend by the German Der Spiegel. "It was a message to the West that they should release imprisoned Muslims." He added that at...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - A video recording released Monday shows kidnapped British journalist Alan Johnston wearing an apparent explosives belt of the type suicide bombers use and warning it will be detonated if an attempt is made to free him by force. The video, about one minute, 42 seconds long, was posted on a Web site that has been used by militant groups in the past. It opens with the title "Alan's Appeal" in both English and Arabic and features the logo of the Army of Islam, a shadowy group that has claimed responsibility for snatching Johnston, a British...