GAZA CITY: Hamas today arrested the spokesman of the militant group holding kidnapped BBC reporter Alan Johnston.

Hamas said the arrest could give it a bargaining chip to secure the release of the Scots journalist, whose parents live in Lochgoilhead, Argyll.

A senior Hamas official said Army of Islam spokesman Abu Khatab al-Maqdisi was arrested in a gun battle with members of a Hamas-allied security force.

He came to prominence after threatening last month to kill Mr Johnston if Britain didn't release a radical Islamic cleric with ties to al-Qaida, who is being held in a British prison.

However, the Army of Islam claimed al-Maqdisi was arrested after leaving early morning prayers.

Mr Johnston, the BBC's Gaza correspondent, was seized at gunpoint in Gaza City on March 12.

In a video released last month, Mr Johnston, 45, appeared with explosives strapped to his body and warned his captors intended to set them off if rescuers attempt to free him by force.

The tape, called "Alan's Appeal", was put on a website used by militant groups to post messages.

It was made by the Army of Islam, a shadowy group inspired by al-Qaida that claimed responsibility for snatching Mr Johnston.

Mr Johnston's kidnapping been condemned by human rights groups, governments and journalists' organisations and has sparked protests around the world.

In a statement last week, the Army of Islam warned Mr Johnston would be "slaughtered like a sheep" if its demands were not met.

It demanded the release of Abu Mohammed al-Maqdisi, who is being held in Jordan and is the mentor of al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Earlier, the group demanded the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman sentenced to death in Jordan over an al-Qaida-led triple hotel bombing in 2005 that killed 60 people.