Report: Drug injected by assassins induced heart attack
London-based Times newspaper says people who killed top Hamas commander in Dubai hotel room photographed all documents in his briefcase
The people who assassinated top Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh 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, London-based Times newspaper reported Sunday.
According to the report, al-Mabhouh's body 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, the Times said.
Nine days later, after blood samples sent to Paris for analysis showed signs of poison, Hamas announced his death and blamed Israeli intelligence service Mossad for the assassination.
The Times report contradicts a claim made Friday by Izzat Rashaq, a top member of Hamas' exiled leadership in Damascus, that the organization's delayed announcement was linked to an attempt to "reach the Israeli agents who implemented this operation."
The report that al-Mabhouh was poisoned to death and was only discovered many days later contradicts earlier information as well. Security sources in Dubai said over the weekend that the body had traces of burns and torture from electric shocks. The Khaleej Times newspaper that al-Mabhouh was apparently suffocated to death by a pillow attached to his face.
