Hamas leader suffocated-Police

DUBAI: A Hamas leader killed in his Dubai hotel room was drugged and then suffocated, police said Sunday, giving further details of the Cold war-style hit allegedly carried out by Mossad agents."The killers used the drug succinylcholine to sedate (Mahmud) al-Mabhuh before they suffocated him," the statement quoted Major General Khamis Mattar al-Mazeina, deputy commander of Dubai police, as saying.

"The assassins used this method so that it would seem that his death was natural," the statement said, adding that "there were no signs of resistance shown by the victim."

Post-mortem test results revealed the presence of the drug, Mazeina said. He added that results did not indicate the amount injected, as the drug is difficult to trace.

Mabhuh, one of the founders of Hamas' military wing, was found dead in his hotel room on January 20.

Israeli intelligence service Mossad has widely been accused of carrying out the assassination. Mabhuh is regarded by Israel as a key link in a weapons smuggling chain into the Gaza Strip that is controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas.

Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan has called on Meir Dagan, the head of Mossad, to come clean on the murder.

Monday, AFP