More suspects in Dubai killing

2010-02-23 19:20

Dubai – The United Arab Emirates has identified four more suspects who carried British and Irish passports in the Dubai killing of a Hamas commander, a source familiar with the investigation said on Tuesday.

The use of fraudulent passports from European Union countries by the killers of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh has drawn censure from the bloc. Dubai has accused Israel of being behind the assassination, but the Israeli foreign minister has said there was no proof his country carried out the killing.

"The UAE has identified two British suspects holding British travel documents and as part of the ongoing investigation has shared the information with the British government," the source in the UAE told Reuters.

Two more suspects holding Irish passports were also identified, the source added.

Released identities

The Dubai authorities had already released the identities of 11 people who travelled on forged British, Irish, French and German passports to kill Mabhouh in a hotel in January, but six other suspects had not yet been identified.

The new information brings the tally of fraudulent British passports used to eight, and Irish identities used to five.

The six previously announced British identities used by the killers were all tracked down to British citizens living in Israel who say their identities were stolen.

Hamas has said Mabhouh was involved in smuggling weapons from Iran to the Gaza Strip.

In a short statement issued on Monday that European diplomats said was intended to put pressure on Israel, EU foreign ministers said that the assassination was "profoundly disturbing" and that its citizens' rights were violated.

- Reuters