Dubai Police accuses five UK passport holders of killing Hamas commander

Dubai, Feb.16 (ANI): Dubai Police are in search of five British passport holders, whom it believes killed a senior Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh here.

The suspects wanted in connection with the killing are Michael Lawrence Barney, James Leonard Clarke, Stephen Daniel Hodes, Paul John Keeley, Melvyn Adam Mildiner, reports The Telegraph.

Officers said the group, who may have used either stolen or forged documents, were allegedly part of an 11-man hit squad that murdered al-Mabhouh.

Al-Mabhouh was found dead in a hotel room on January 20.

According to one report he was killed by a female assassin who entered his room by posing as a member of hotel staff, injected him with a drug that induced a heart attack and hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door.

But other officers said he was strangled, probably after receiving an electric shock.

Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, blamed Israel's Mossad intelligence service for the killing.

But video footage and a series of passport photographs released by the Dubai police last night suggested a much more convoluted and bizarre operation than is normally associated with Mossad, which has a reputation for ruthless professionalism.

Gen Dahi Tamim, Dubai's police chief displayed a series of passport photographs showing 10 men and a woman at a press conference.

Most of the individuals appeared to be of Middle Eastern origin, even though they carried passports with European-sounding names.

Six of the suspects carried British passports, three others had Irish passports, while the other two had French and German documents. The woman had Irish papers and was named as Gail Folliard. The other Irish were named as Kevin Daveron and Evan Dennings.

British government sources told The Daily Telegraph there was no "corroboration" within Whitehall of any British involvement in the assassination plot. (ANI)