Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior figure in the military wing of Hamas, was found dead in a hotel room on Jan 20th. 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.
This is an assasination right out of the movies.
Flying in from Paris, Frankfurt, Rome and Zurich, the team of ten men and one woman arrived within three hours of each other. The group switched hotels several times and wore disguises including false beards and wigs, while surveillance teams rotated in pairs through the hotel lobby, never hanging around for too long and paying for everything in cash. Throughout the operation, none of the suspects made a direct call to any another. However, Dubai police traced a high volume of calls and text messages between three phones carried by the assassins and four numbers in Austria where a command centre had apparently been established.
Whether through good fortune or design, no security camera covered the door to al-Mabhouh’s room and there is no footage of how the team gained entry to the room. When al-Mabhouh returned to the hotel at 8.24pm his killers were in place. Police believe that he was asphyxiated. By 8.46pm, less than 20 minutes after their victim entered the hotel, the four killers are shown leaving the second floor, followed closely by their spotters in room 237. The surveillance team in the hotel lobby also disbands.
Hamas admits that Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was involved in the killing of two Israeli soldiers in 1989. Obviously, suspicious eyes are looking towards Mossad.
Developing: Photo of 11 Suspects and Article (TimesLive)
Developing: CCTV Footage of the Crew in Action and Article (BBC)
Developing: Hamas: Assasinated Operative Put Himself at Risk (YNetNews)
Developing: Dubai wants head of Mossad Arrested Over Assasination (TimesOnline)
Developing: Dubai Identifies 15 New Suspects (BBC)
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