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| | GEO World | | Britain, Ireland contact passport holders over Dubai hit | Updated at: 2035 PST, Wednesday, February 24, 2010
LONDON: Britain and Ireland were Wednesday contacting the holders of passports newly suspected of being used by the killers of a top Hamas figure in Dubai, as London said it expected "full Israeli cooperation."
Police said they were now seeking 26 suspects over the killing of Mahmud al-Mabhuh on January 20. These included 15 new names including six British and three Irish passport holders.
The chief of police in Dubai has said he is almost certain that Israeli secret service Mossad was behind the death of Mabhuh, a founder of Hamas's armed wing.
"We can confirm that six more UK passports have been identified, we will seek to make contact with these individuals and offer consular assistance as we have the previous individuals," the Foreign Office in London said.
"The foreign secretary and others have made clear we expect full Israeli co-operation."
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Irish foreign ministry spokesman said six of the 26 passports so far identified were Irish and all the genuine passport holders whose passport numbers had been used had been contacted.
"The investigation is ongoing and we cannot rule out the possibility of further developments," the spokesman said.
Previously, police had released the names and photos of six people using British and three using Irish passports as suspects.
These passports appear to have been falsified or stolen, as they belong to apparently ordinary citizens shocked to learn they had been linked to the case. Some diplomatic passports were also used, police say. |  |
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