Dubai police chief says Mossad behind death threats

Author: 
REUTERS
Publication Date: 
Fri, 2010-10-01 02:01

Dubai's police chief, Dahi Khalfan Tamim, led the probe into the killing of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, who was killed in a Dubai hotel in January. The investigation was public and made Tamim a hero in the Arab world.
Tamim's revelations about the suspects in a series of press conferences and media interviews — that the hit squad used fake passports from Britain, Ireland, Germany, France and Australia — strained Israel's relationship with several countries.
In an interview published on Thursday, Tamim told United Arab Emirates government-owned daily Al-Ittihad he believed Mossad was behind two threats he had received, one in an e-mail and the other in a phone call to one of his relatives.
He said Dubai police had managed to track the e-mail's source, but gave no more details. The e-mail said: "Protect your back if you are going to keep your tongue loose."
In the phone call, his relative was told to pass on a message for Tamim "to remain silent." The paper said the call was made by a "dual nationality Westerner, who was later confirmed to be a retired Mossad agent."
Israeli officials were not available for comment on Thursday, a Jewish holiday.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied any role in the assassination of Mabhouh. Residents of Israel with the same names as the suspects, holding dual nationalities, said their identities appeared to have been stolen.
The apparent passport abuse drew global criticism. Ireland, Britain and Australia expelled Israeli diplomats.

Taxonomy upgrade extras: