The arrest took place in a Western country about two months ago, Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim said in comments published Monday in The National newspaper.

After the Jan. 19 killing of Hamas commander Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, one of the founders of the group's military wing, Dubai police requested international help in trying to track down people believed to be involved in the slaying.

Authorities in the Emirates say a hit squad involving more than 20 suspects — many of whom had traveled to Dubai on fake passports and were captured on security cameras — was responsible for the killing, which took place at an airport hotel.

Tamim has repeatedly accused Israel's Mossad spy agency of orchestrating the killing. Mossad has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.

In Monday's comments, Tamim said the suspect is not believed to be European. "The suspect who was arrested played a key role in the killing, but we were informed by the ambassador ... that they did not wish to release the information," Tamim told the Abu Dhabi government-owned daily.

It remained unclear if the suspect is still being held in the country of the arrest and if he has been charged with any crime.

Tamim could not immediately be reached for further comment.

The reported arrest is not the first in the case. An alleged Israeli spy known by the name Uri Brodsky was arrested June 4 in Warsaw on a European arrest warrant issued by Germany in connection with the killing. Poland agreed to extradite him, but he was later set free on bail by a German judge.

Brodsky, who is suspected of helping to issue a fake German passport to a member of the hit team, is free to travel wherever he wants while judicial proceedings against him in Germany continue. The Emirates has called on Germany to explain why Brodsky was freed.