Interpol identifies 16 more suspects in Hamas official murder
Interpol issues 16 new arrest warrants over murder of Hamas commander in Dubai this January
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By Jack Clark. |  |
Monday, 08, Mar 2010 05:15
By Matthew Champion.
Arrest warrants have been issued by Interpol for 16 more people over the murder of a Hamas commander in Dubai in January this year.
The new red notices take the total number of suspects for the murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh to 27.
The case has provoked a major international dispute after it was revealed the suspected killers - which Dubai police have said belong to Israeli security agency Mossad - used EU and Australian passports to enter the emirate.
Mr al-Mabhouh's body was found in his Dubai hotel room on January 20th, the day after he arrived. He is thought to have been drugged before being suffocated.
On Monday Interpol said Dubai police had identified "two teams" involved in the killing. The first 11 arrest warrants issued are for suspects thought to be involved in the actual killing, while the more recent 16 are linked to the associated surveillance operation.
"According to the Dubai police investigation, the first team consisted of a smaller core group alleged to have carried out the killing, while a second team, the members of which are now also subject of red notices, is believed to have aided and abetted the first team by closely watching, following and reporting al-Mabhouh's movements from the moment he landed at Dubai airport until his murder on January 19th," a statement said.
Interpol added that it had arrived at the 16 new suspects through a combination of passport records, video surveillance, DNA analysis, witness interviews and hotel, credit card, phone and transport records.
Israel has refused to either deny or confirm its involvement in the killing, saying it has a "policy of ambiguity" on intelligence matters.