LONDON, Aug 13 (AFP) - The Sunday Telegraph newspaper said Friday it was extremely concerned about the situation regarding its journalist James Brandon but said it couldn't confirm directly that he had been abducted from a hotel in Basra, southern Iraq.
"James Brandon was in Basra filing materials for this Sunday newspaper amongst other projects," said Sunday Telegraph deputy editor Matthew d'Ancona in a statement read to AFP.
"We are pursuing his situation with greatest concern," the statement said.
It was released shortly after Britain's Foreign Office confirmed to AFP that a British national had been kidnapped in the city.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman would not give the person's name or any further details until their family had been contacted.
Hotel employees in Basra said earlier Friday that a man registered as "working for the Sunday Telegraph" had been abducted from the hotel.
About 20 masked gunmen, some wearing police uniform, stormed into the Al-Diyafa hotel at about 11:00 pm (1900 GMT) and dragged the bleeding man out after shots were fired, said a hotel employee, who wished to remain anonymous.
Hours later a video tape was released showing a hooded militant standing next to a barechested Brandon, threatening to kill him, the BBC said.
"We demand the American forces withdraw from Najaf within 24 hours or we will kill this British hostage," the militant is reportedly heard saying.
"I'm a journalist, I just write about what is happening in Iraq... [I'm] James Brandon from the Sunday Telegraph," he reportedly says to the camera.