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Five new suspects in Hamas murder

Dubai - Police name five new suspects in murder of Hamas militant
Dubai - Police name five new suspects in murder of Hamas militant

Dubai police have named five new suspects in the killing of a senior Hamas member at a luxury hotel in the Gulf emirate, bringing the total number to 32.

Police said two of the new suspects in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh's held French passports, another two travelled on British passports, and the other, a woman, had an Australian passport.

The names were given in Arabic.

International police agency Interpol has already issued arrest notices for 27 suspects wanted by Dubai authorities in connection with the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

The founder of the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas was found dead in his Dubai hotel room on 20 January.

The assassination has caused diplomatic tension over the alleged falsification of European and Australian passports by Israel's Mossad spy agency.

Dubai police said 12 people linked to the hit used cloned British passports, three had French travel documents, six carried Irish passports and one used a German identity.

Three Australian passports were also used in the operation, while two Palestinians were arrested in Jordan and extradited to Dubai over connections to the killing, according to police.

Dubai police chief General Dahi Khalfan has said Mabhouh was drugged and then suffocated in his hotel room, while Hamas has blamed the killing entirely on Israel and vowed revenge.

The emirate's security service showed surveillance video footage from Mabhouh's hotel detailing the movements of the alleged hit squad.