Dubai Names Five More Suspects in Hamas Killing

Dubai police named five new suspects in the killing of a senior Hamas militant at a luxury hotel in the Gulf emirate, bringing the total number to 32, Al Arabiya news channel reported Friday.

Police said two of the new suspects in Mahmoud al Mabhouh's assassination in January held French passports, another two traveled on British passports and the other, a woman, had an Australian passport, the Dubai-based channel said.

It gave the names in Arabic.

Australian authorities announced earlier Friday that they were investigating reports of a fifth Australian passport that was linked to the killing, a situation the government said was of the “gravest concern.”

International police agency Interpol already issued arrest notices for 27 suspects wanted by Dubai in connection with the killing of Mabhouh, a founder of the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, who was found dead in his Dubai hotel room Jan. 20.

The assassination caused diplomatic tension over the alleged falsification of European and Australian passports by Israel's Mossad spy agency.

London in March kicked out an Israeli diplomat citing "compelling reasons" to believe that Israel was responsible for the misuse of British passports.

Dubai police previously said 12 people linked to the hit used cloned British passports, three had French travel documents, six carried Irish passports and one used a German identity.

Three Australian passports were also used in the operation, while two Palestinians were arrested in Jordan and extradited to Dubai over connections to the killing, according to police.

Dubai police chief General Dahi Khalfan said Mabhouh was drugged and then suffocated in his hotel room. Hamas blamed the killing entirely on Israel and vowed revenge.

The emirate's security service showed surveillance video footage from Mabhouh's hotel detailing the movements of the alleged hit squad.