Unknown militants on Monday kidnapped a BBC correspondent in Gaza City and took him to an unknown place, Palestinian security sources said.

The sources said that Alan Johnston, a Briton, working for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), was last seen in Gaza on Monday afternoon, and was kidnapped by unknown militants in the city.

The sources provided no other details on the kidnapping of Johnston who has been based in Gaza for more than two years.

It is the first kidnapping of foreigners since rivals Hamas and Fatah reached a power-sharing deal last month and ended their political strife.

About 17 international journalists and foreigners were kidnapped in Gaza in 2006 but all of them were later released unharmed.

Source: Xinhua