Israel Matzav

Maybe he was looking for 'Cindy'?

The always sensationalist Uzi Mahnaimi reports in the Times of London that Mahmoud al-Mabhouh died of a heart attack induced by a poison injection (which, if correct, would contradict earlier reports that he was electrocuted).

A HIT squad that killed a top Hamas commander in his Dubai hotel room injected him with a drug that induced a heart attack, photographed all the documents in his briefcase and left a “do not disturb” sign on the door.

The body of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, 50, was discovered by staff at the luxury Al Bustan Rotana hotel after lunch on January 20. There were no suspicious signs and local doctors diagnosed a heart attack.

Nine days later, after blood samples sent to Paris for analysis showed signs of poison, Hamas announced his death and blamed Mossad, the Israeli overseas intelligence service, for the assassination.

Mr. al-Mahbouh was apparently a pretty big fish.

Al-Mabhouh was one of the founders of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, the Islamic organisation that seized control of the Gaza strip in 2007.

According to Middle Eastern sources, al-Mabhouh, who was the official responsible for arranging arms supplies from Iran to Gaza, was tracked from the moment he boarded Emirates flight EK 912 at Damascus at 10.05 on January 19.

He was said to have been travelling on a false passport and on arrival in Dubai was followed by two men described by local police as “Europeans carrying European passports”.

Unless they were carrying false passports too.

Finally, there's this curious detail from YNet.

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was without his security guards when he was assassinated in his hotel room in Dubai, according to reports in Persian Gulf media outlets. According to the reports, al-Mabhouh entered the United Arab Emirates under his true identity [Note that contradicts the Mahnaimi report above. CiJ].

Hamas officials confirmed the report that al-Mabhouh was "key figure" in supplying weapons to the organization. Hamas also reported that al-Mabhouh was "on a mission" when he was killed in Dubai. According to them, his trip was slated to last a number of days and that he decided for some reason to travel without his security detail.

Maybe he was hoping to meet 'Cindy.'

Heh.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:00 AM