A Palestinian policeman checks a passing vehicle in a checkpoint in Gaza, December 28.  Three Britons were abducted in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Palestinian sources said.(Xinhua/AFP photo)

   GAZA, Dec. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- Three Britons were abducted in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Palestinian sources said.

   Unidentified masked gunmen seized the three Britons near the Rafah crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border in the southern Gaza Strip,the sources said.

   It was the latest kidnapping incident in the coastal strip where chaos and crime are on the rise following the Israeli pullout from the territory in September.

   A Dutch principal of an American school in Gaza and his Australian aide were abducted in northern Gaza last Wednesday but were released soon.

   There have been abductions of foreigners in Gaza during the past, which are usually conducted by militant groups to bargain with authorities for personal affairs.  Enditem