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| '11 Europeans' wanted in Dubai | |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Police in Dubai are to issue arrest warrants for 11 "agents with European passports" suspected of assassinating a top Hamas official last month. | Police in Dubai are to issue arrest warrants for 11 "agents with European passports" suspected of assassinating a top Hamas official last month. |
| Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was murdered in his hotel room in Dubai on 20 January. | Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was murdered in his hotel room in Dubai on 20 January. |
| Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement, said he was in Dubai to buy weapons for the organisation and accused Israeli agents of killing him. | Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement, said he was in Dubai to buy weapons for the organisation and accused Israeli agents of killing him. |
| Dubai's police chief did not identify the suspects further except to say that one of the 11 is a woman. | Dubai's police chief did not identify the suspects further except to say that one of the 11 is a woman. |
| But they were a professional hit-squad, most likely sponsored by a foreign power, Dubai's police chief said. | |
| We have no doubts that it was 11 people holding these passports, and we regret that they used the travel documents of friendly countries Lt Col Dhafi Khalfan TamimDubai police Hamas commander 'killed in Dubai' Long history of Israel's 'covert killing' | |
| "We do not rule out the involvement of Mossad (the Israeli secret service), but when we arrest those suspects we will know who masterminded it," Lt Col Dhafi Khalfan Tamim said. | |
| He revealed that the suspects were using six British passports, three Irish, one French and one German passport, he said. | |
| "We have no doubts that it was 11 people holding these passports, and we regret that they used the travel documents of friendly countries," Lt Col Tamim said. | |
| 'Suffocated' | |
| Lt Col Tamim said the identities had been passed on to Interpol, as part of an official request for arrest warrants to be issued. | |
| Mr Mabhouh was electrocuted and suffocated, according to reports last month. | |
| Lt Col Tamim said the suspects had followed Mr Mabhouh into Dubai from Syria, where he lived since 1989, before fanning out to stay at different hotels to avoid detection. | |
| Two Palestinians who aided the team have been arrested, the police said. | |
| Mr Mabhouh was a founder member of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, and was thought to be behind the kidnap and murder of two Israeli soldiers in 1989 during the first Palestinian Intifada. | |
| The Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades have been responsible for suicide bombings and rocket attacks across Israel. | |
| Israel has refused to comment on the accusations its security forces were behind the killing. |