GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – An unknown militant group demanded the release of Muslim prisoners in U.S. jails within 72 hours in exchange for two kidnapped Fox News journalists, who were shown sitting cross-legged and barefoot on the floor in a video released yesterday.

The video, which broke 10 days of silence from the kidnappers, marked the first time militants in Gaza have issued demands going beyond the conflict with Israel. The footage also had none of the trappings of locally produced videos, such as flags or masked gunmen, raising the possibility that foreign extremists may have taken root in Gaza.

In the footage, American correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, of Washington, D.C., and cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand appealed for help in getting released.

The images of the men sitting in a dark, drab room were the first sign of the journalists since they were abducted Aug. 14 from their TV van in

Gaza City.

“Our captors are treating us well,” Centanni said.

In a statement attached to the video, a group calling itself the Holy Jihad Brigades rallied against the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and characterized them as a war against Islam. It made no demands of Israel.

It was not clear whether the group was referring to prisoners being held by the United States in Guantanamo Bay or Iraq, where the U.S. is holding large numbers of Muslim prisoners.

In Washington, the State Department said it would not accede to the demands.

“We don’t make concessions to terrorists, and we continue to call for the release of these journalists without conditions,” State Department press officer Gonzalo Gallegos said.