New names emerge in Hamas slaying probe

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, May 7 (UPI) -- Five names have been added to the list of suspects in the January assassination of a Hamas leader in Dubai, Emirati officials said.

Five suspects linked to the January assassination of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh were carrying British, Australian and French passports, sources told The Wall Street Journal.

Mabhouh, a Palestinian national who founded the militant wing of Hamas, was discovered dead in a Dubai hotel in January. Dubai police said they found 12 British, six Irish, four French, three Australian and one German passports connected to suspects in the Mabhouh assassination.

The five new suspects bring the total number of people connected to the assassination to 32. Investigators looking into the role of suspect Zev Barkan are examining if he has ties to a passport ring in New Zealand.

New Zealand officials in 2004 accused Israel of backing Barkan's role in the plot. In March, police officials in Dubai criticized the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad for having the "audacity" to carry out an assassination on their soil.

Interpol said it was investigating one team of suspects that "consisted of a smaller core group alleged to have carried out the killing," while a second team "aided and abetted the first team" by trailing Mabhouh when he arrived Jan.19 in Dubai.