Parents of BBC reporter worried after execution claims

London - The parents of BBC journalist Alan Johnston, who was kidnapped in Gaza more than a month ago, on Monday appealed for an end to their ordeal after a Palestinian group claimed to have killed him.

"This is a desperately worrying time for us," Graham and Margaret Johnston said in a statement, a day after Kataeb al-Jihad al-Tawheed (The Brigades of Holy War and Unity) said it had "executed" the 44-year-old journalist.

"We make a heartfelt appeal to anyone who may have knowledge of Alan's situation and well-being to contact the authorities in Gaza.

"Our son has lived and worked among the people of Gaza for the last three years to bring their story to the outside world and we ask everyone of them to help end this ordeal."

The British Broadcasting Corporation and the Foreign Office in London said Monday they were still working to secure independent verification of the claim.

Johnston, who was the only Western journalist to both live and work in Gaza, was abducted at gunpoint on March 12 as he drove home. He had been due to finish his posting there at the end of March.

Before Sunday's statement, which was sent to news outlets in the Middle East, nobody had claimed responsibility for the kidnap and nothing had been heard of his whereabouts.

Kataeb al-Jihad al-Tawheed -- which has the same name as a group set up by Al-Qaeda in Iraq, although it is not clear if the two are linked -- said it had killed Johnston to put pressure on the Palestinian authorities.

The BBC said Sunday it was "deeply concerned" at the development, but said there had been no independent verification that their correspondent was dead.

Palestinian government officials also said there was no evidence to support the group's claim.

The BBC held a day of action last Thursday -- the month anniversary of Johnston's kidnap -- to step up calls for his release.

BBC director-general Mark Thompson said Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas had told him he had "credible evidence" Johnston was safe and well and that the authorities were "fully engaged" in the case and working to resolve it.

Thousands of people from around the world have signed a petition calling for Johnston's release, with hundreds posting messages of support on the BBC News website.

Palestinian journalists have also organised a series of strikes and rallies to protest his abduction.

Johnston, who has worked for the BBC for 16 years and has been posted to Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, is one of a number of Western journalists to have been kidnapped in Gaza in recent years.

But all have been released unharmed, usually within days of their capture.

Agence France Presse