Image
Interpol has issued arrest warrants for 16 new suspects identified by Dubai police for the January assassination of a Hamas commander.

The latest announcement brought to 27 the total number of suspects on Interpol's wanted list for the assassination of Mahmud al-Mabhouh, who was drugged before being suffocated in his hotel room, AFP reported.

"Investigative information provided by the authorities in Dubai bore out the international links and broad scope of the number of people involved, as well as the role of two 'teams' of individuals identified by the Dubai police as being linked to Al-Mabhouh's murder," Interpol said in a statement.

The statement added that the 16 new names make up the second of these "teams," in addition to the 11 for whom Interpol issued arrest alerts, known as Red Notices, on February 18.

The 11 suspects, carrying European passports, included six Britons, three Irish and one French and one German, widely believed to have been Mossad agents carrying fake European documents.

"According to the Dubai police investigation, the first team consisted of a smaller core group alleged to have carried out the killing," said the statement.

The second team of 16 "is believed to have aided and abetted the first team by closely watching, following and reporting Mabhouh's movements from the moment he landed in Dubai airport until his murder" on January 19, the statement added.

Israel has so far refused to confirm or deny involvement in the assassination of the Hamas commander.