UAE officials say 2 more Irish passports linked to alleged hit squad in Hamas slaying

Officials: 5 Irish passports tied to Dubai killing

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Emirati officials say at least two more fraudulent Irish passports have been linked to the alleged hit squad accused of killing a Hamas commander in Dubai. They also say some of the 18 suspects visited the Gulf city for a reconnaissance mission at least once before the Jan. 19 killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in his Dubai hotel room.

The officials, who are close to the investigation, spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The latest allegations mean the list of fraudulently obtained passports tied to the killing include six British, five Irish and one French and German. Two Palestinians are in custody and three suspects remain unidentified.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A top Emirati official on Sunday urged European investigators to launch full-scale probes into how fraudulent passports had been used by a hit squad accused of killing a Hamas commander.

The UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said the Gulf country is deeply concerned that the suspected assassins used expertly doctored passports from nations that don’t require advance UAE visas.

Dubai police say at least 11 suspects used altered British, Irish, French and German passports before the Jan. 19 slaying of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

“The UAE is deeply concerned by the fact that passports of close allies, whose nationals currently enjoy preferential visa waivers, were illegally used to commit this crime,” Gargash said in a statement, carried by the Emirates’ state-run news agency WAM on Sunday.

Dubai’s police chief, Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim, has blamed Israeli’s Mossad secret service.

“The abuse of passports poses a global threat, affecting both countries’ national security as well as the personal security of travelers,” the Emirates’ Foreign Minister Sheik Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan was quoted saying in the same statement.

The statement gave no updates on the investigation, but said the Emirates’ and Dubai authorities continue to scrutinize events that led to al-Mabhouh’s slaying and its aftermath. The authorities also remain in “close contact with the concerned European governments,” the statement added and listed the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Germany and Austria.

Earlier this week Tamim told reporters in Dubai that the alleged assassins used foreign cell phone cards to avoid being traced while calling a “command center” in Austria.