Tuesday Feb. 16, 2010 8:20 AM (EST+7)
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DUBAI, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Dubai will issue arrest warrants soon for 11 Europeans suspected of the killing of a senior Hamas official in the Gulf Arab emirate, and does not rule out Israeli involvement, the police chief said on Monday.
Hamas military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was found dead in a Dubai luxury hotel last month, and the Palestinian Islamist militant group has blamed the Jewish state for the killing. Israel has declined to comment.
The suspects included people from Britain, Ireland, Germany and France, Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim told reporters. One is a woman.
A leading suspect, who carried a French passport, had left Dubai for Munich via Qatar after the killing, Tamim added.
'We do not rule out (the Israeli intelligence agency) Mossad, but when we arrest those suspects we will know who masterminded it. (We have not) issued arrest warrants yet, but will do soon,' he said.
'Israel carries out a lot of assassinations in many countries, even in countries that it is allied to,' Tamim said, adding that Mabhouh may have been killed by electrocution.
Tamim said two Palestinians suspected of providing logistical support in Mabhouh's killing were being held by police. Al Arabiya television said the pair had been handed over by Jordan. Both were members of the Palestinian security forces in the Gaza Strip under Hamas control.
Tamim said the 11 still wanted had rented a hotel room opposite Mabhouh's around the time of his death. All are believed to have left Dubai. Violent crime is rare in Dubai, part of the UAE and a regional trading and tourism hub.
Like most Arab countries, the UAE has no diplomatic ties with the Jewish state and Israelis are routinely denied entry.
It refused a visa for Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer to take part in a $2 million tournament in Dubai last year, although she was able to enter for this year's championship.
The UAE has hosted Israeli officials. Infrastructure minister Uzi Landau attended a renewable energy conference in the UAE in January, the first visit by an Israeli minister.
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