British sources: 'Irish' assassins in Dubai were likely Mossad agents

British government sources said Tuesday that the three Irish passport-holders accused of taking part in the assassination of a Hamas commander in Dubai last month were most likely Mossad agents carrying false documentation, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The Telegraph report came one day after Dubai Police Chief Lt. Gen. Dhahi Khalfan Tamim announced that senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was murdered by an 11-member hit squad of mercenaries carrying European passports, Haaretz reported.

The group was responsible for killing the Hamas commander in his hotel room on January 20, a slaying that has elicited vows of revenge from the Palestinian militant group.

Dubai will soon issue arrest warrants for the 11 suspects, but Tamim said Monday that he had still not ruled out Israeli involvement. While he did not accuse Israel directly, Tamim did say it was possible that "leaders of certain countries gave orders to their intelligence agents."

"We do not rule out Mossad, but when we arrest those suspects we will know who masterminded it. [We have not] issued arrest warrants yet, but will do so soon," he told a press conference on Monday.

He told reporters that six members of the alleged assassination team held British passports, three held Irish passports, and one each from France and Germany. A leading suspect, who carried a French passport, left Dubai for Munich via Qatar after the killing, Tamim added.

Police released the suspects' photos, names, nationalities and details from their passports, which authorities said were not fake.

"Israel carries out a lot of assassinations in many countries, even in countries it is allied to," Tamim said, adding that Mabhouh may have been killed by electrocution.

Tamim said two Palestinians suspected of providing logistical support in Mabhouh's killing were being held by police. Al Arabiya television reported the pair had been handed over by Jordan.

At Monday's news conference, Tamim revealed surveillance video of the alleged assassination team arriving on separate flights to Dubai the day before Mabhouh was found dead; the suspects also checked into separate hotels. They paid for all expenses in cash and used different mobile phone cards to avoid being traced, he added.