Dubai police identify 15 more suspects in Hamas killing
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Dubai police Wednesday released a list of 15 additional names and photos of people allegedly involved in the assassination of a top Hamas official last month, a leading English newspaper of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported.
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A combo of identity photographs released by the Dubai police shows the 15 new suspects in last month's killing in the emirate of top Hamas militant Mahmud al-Mabhuh. Dubai police on Wednesday widened their search for the killers of a top Hamas militant in a luxury hotel, saying 15 new Western passport holders are now suspects, bring the total now sought to 26. [Xinhua/AFP Photo] |
It brought the number of suspects involved in the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh to 26 people, all Western passport holders.
Among the new suspects, six held British identities, three were Irish, three were French and the other three were Australian, the police were quoted as saying by The National on its website.
The team's various members travelled through more than a half- dozen nations and visited Dubai on at least four previous occasions before the killing of the senior commander of Hamas military wing the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, according to police.
The police said they were able to track some of the movements because of the use of credit cards by 14 of the suspects, adding that the cards were issued by a U.S. bank.
Al-Mabhouh, 50, was born in the Gaza Strip but has been living in Syria since 1989. He was found dead in his hotel room on Jan. 20, a day after he arrived in Dubai.
The Hamas official was wanted by the Israeli government in connection with the kidnappings of two Israeli soldiers in 1989.
Dubai police have said they are virtually certain that Israel's intelligence agency Mossad was behind the assassination, but Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has said there was no proof his country carried out the killing.
On Feb. 15, Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim said 11 European passport holders are suspected to have been involved in the killing of al-Mabhouh.
He said the suspects include six Britons, one French, one German and three Irish nationals, including a woman, adding that additional names would be revealed as the investigation advanced.
Wednesday's new list of suspects includes people who offered prior logistical support and preparation to facilitate the murder and others who played a central role, according to Dubai-based English daily Gulf News.
European nations assisting in the investigation have indicated to Dubai police that the passports were issued in an illegal and fraudulent manner, saying the pictures on the travel documents did not correspond to the original owners, the newspaper said.
Dubai police investigators are not ruling out the possibility of involvement of other people in the murder, stressing that authorities are still conducting a wide search and receiving other links to the case, Gulf News said.
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