DUBAI: Dubai's police chief said Thursday he believed Israeli agents were involved in killing a Hamas commander in the emirate, and called for the Mossad spy agency's boss to be arrested if its responsibility was proved.
As an international row over last month's attack escalated, Paris, London and Dublin all demanded explanations from Israel on why passport details of their citizens had been used by the suspected hit squad last month.
Israel has stuck to a policy of "ambiguity" on operations by Mossad, refusing to confirm or deny that its agents had murdered Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, who was found dead in his luxury Dubai hotel room.
In comments aired on Dubai TV, police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim called for Interpol to issue "a red notice against the head of Mossad ... as a killer in case Mossad is proved to be behind the crime, which is likely now.”
Earlier Tamim was quoted by an Emirates newspaper as saying he was almost certain that Mossad, which is led by former Israeli Gen. Meir Dagan, was responsible. "Our investigations reveal that Mossad is involved in the murder of Al-Mabhouh. It is 99 percent, if not 100 percent, that Mossad is standing behind the murder," he told The National newspaper in a report posted on its website.
A UAE official, who has close knowledge of the investigation, said at least 18 people — including two women — are now suspected in the highly coordinated operation to kill Al-Mabhouh. Ten of the men and one woman were identified by Dubai police Monday as members of the group that traveled to Dubai on apparently fraudulent passports. Also linked to the slaying are two Palestinians in Dubai custody and five others, including one woman who was caught on video surveillance at the hotel where Al-Mabhouh's body was found Jan. 20.
Interpol said it had already issued "red notices" for the 11 suspects whose photos were distributed by Dubai. Red notices are put out after national authorities issue a warrant, to help with finding suspects so they can be arrested or extradited.
The killings have sucked in several foreign governments as the 11 suspects appeared to have used fake European passports to enter the emirate. Britain summoned Israeli Ambassador to London Ron Prosor for a meeting with Peter Ricketts, who heads its diplomatic service, to explain how several UK citizens living in Israel found their passport details had been used by the alleged killers. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Ricketts had made clear "how seriously we take any suggestion of fraudulent use of British passports" and sought Israeli assistance.
Paris also demanded that Israel explain how an apparently forged French passport had been used by the suspected assassins. Dublin followed suit, calling in the Israeli ambassador to tell it how the suspects had used passport details of three Irish citizens, one of whom has never visited Israel.
In Austria, authorities said they were investigating whether the killers used Austrian phone numbers or SIM cards to plan their hit. The investigation also widened to the United States. Emirates authorities said the killers used fraudulent passports to open credit card accounts through US-based banks, an official said.
