The beautiful ‘assassin’: ‘Hit squad with British passports accused of executing senior Hamas leader

By Mail Foreign Service

Claims that British and Irish passport holders are among an alleged 11-man hit squad wanted in Dubai for the apparent assassination of a Hamas commander are tonight being investigated by London and Dublin.

Dubai police say the main suspect is Peter Elvinger, 49, who holds a French passport. He was the gang’s logistical co-ordinator and the one who booked room 237 in Al Bustan Rotana, down the corridor from the victim’s room – 230.

The other suspects were identified as Irish nationals Gail Folliard, Kevin Daveron and Evan Dennings; British nationals Paul John Keely, Stephen Daniel Hodes, Melvyn Adam Mildiner, Jonathan Louis Graham, James Leonard Clarke and Michael Lawrence Barney. Also wanted is Michael Bodenheimer, a German national.

Chief of Dubai Police Dahi Khalfan Tamim speaks during a video presentation showing Peter Elvinger, one of the 11 suspects involved in the recent killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh during a news conference in Dubai

The hit squad was responsible for killing Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in his hotel room last month in a slaying that has brought vows of revenge from the Palestinian militant group, Dubai’s police chief said.

The details given by Lt Gen Dhahi Khalfan Tamim are the most comprehensive accusations by Dubai authorities since the body of al-Mabhouh was found on January 20 in his luxury hotel room near Dubai’s international airport.

Tamim told reporters the alleged assassination team was made up of six British passport holders, three Irish and one each from France and Germany.

But he did not directly implicate Israel – as Hamas has done. The group has accused Israel’s Mossad secret service of carrying out the killing and has pledged to strike back.

Alleged leader Peter Elvinger holds a French passport, while Gail Folliard is Irish

Stephen Daniel Hodes (British)

Paul John Keeley (British)

Michael Lawrence Barney (British)

James Leonard Clarke (British)

Melvyn Adam Mildiner (British)

Jonathan Louis Graham (British)

Kevin Daveron
(Irish)

Michael Bodenheimer (German)

Evan Dennings
(Irish)

Tamim said it was possible that ‘leaders of certain countries gave orders to their intelligence agents to kill’ al-Mabhouh, one of the founders of Hamas’ military wing. Israeli officials have accused him of helping smuggle rockets into Gaza.

He said forensic tests indicate al-Mabhouh died of suffocation, but lab analyses are still under way to pinpoint possible other factors in his death.

Top Hamas figures have denied reports that al-Mabhouh was en route to Iran, which is a major Hamas backer. But the group has not given clear reasons for his presence in Dubai.

Tamim sketched out a highly organized operation in the hours before the killing.

He showed a news conference surveillance video of the alleged assassination team arriving on separate flights to Dubai the day before al-Mabhouh was found dead. The suspects checked into separate hotels.

Tamim points to video footage showing two of the 11 suspects. Dubai will issue arrest warrants soon for 11 Europeans suspected in the killing of the senior Hamas official, and cannot rule out Israeli involvement, the police chief said

They paid for all expenses in cash and used different mobile phone cards to avoid traces, he added.

At least two suspected members of the hit squad watched al-Mabhouh check in at his hotel and later booked a room across from the Hamas commander, Tamim said.

He added that there was ‘serious penetration into al-Mabhouh’s security prior to his arrival’ in Dubai, but that it appeared al-Mabhouh was travelling alone.

A Palestinian supporter of Hamas holds a picture of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh during his funeral at al-Yarmouk camp near Damascus

‘Hamas did not tell us who he was. He was walking around alone,’ said Tamim. ‘If he was such an important leader, why didn’t he have people escorting him?’

Tamim said there was at least one unsuccessful attempt to break into al-Mabhouh’s hotel room. It was unclear whether he opened the door to his killers or if the room was forcibly entered.

The killing took place about five hours after al-Mabhouh arrived at the hotel and all 11 suspects were out of the United Arab Emirates within 19 hours of their arrivals, he added.

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, bottom left, marches as mourners carry the coffin of al-Mabhouh, one of the founders of Hamas’ military wing, at his funera

Tamim said the suspects left some evidence, but he declined to elaborate. He urged the countries linked to the alleged killers to co- operate with the investigation.

Earlier this month, Hamas said it launched floating explosives into the Mediterranean Sea to drift toward Israeli beaches to avenge al-Mabhouh’s death.

Israeli authorities discovered at least two explosives-rigged barrels and carried out an intensive search for other bombs, closing miles of beaches and deploying robotic bomb squads.

A Hamas statement last month acknowledged al-Mabhouh was involved in the kidnapping and killing of two Israeli soldiers in 1989 and said he was still playing a ‘continuous role in supporting his brothers in the resistance inside the occupied homeland’ at the time of his death.

More than 2,000 mourners attended al-Mabhouh’s funeral and burial at the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, near Damascus, Syria.

Britain’s Foreign Office declined to comment today on the allegations while officials seek more information on the case and the individuals named by Tamim.

Hamas initially claimed al-Mabhouh was poisoned and electrocuted. But Mohammed Nazzal, a Hamas leader, has given a somewhat different account, saying al-Mabhouh was ambushed by Mossad agents who were waiting for him in his hotel room.

Nazzal said earlier this month that no poison was involved. But he gave no evidence to back up his charge of Mossad involvement.

Top Hamas figures have denied reports that al-Mabhouh was en route to Iran, which is a major Hamas backer. But the group has not given clear reasons for his presence in Dubai.