Wed, February 24, 2010
ABU DHABI, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Dubai police 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 Wednesday.
Among the new suspects, six had British identities, three were Irish, three French and the other three Australian, the police were quoted as saying by The National on its website.
This raises the number of suspects involved in the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh to 26 people, all Western passport holders.
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 al-Mabhouh, a senior commander of Hamas military wing the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, according to the police.
The Dubai 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. Hamas has accused Mossad, Israel's secret agency responsible for foreign intelligence, of carrying out the assassination.
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.
According to the Dubai-based English daily Gulf News, Dubai police said European governments have authenticated the passports used by all suspects in the case.
