Hit squad used diplomatic passports, says Dubai police chief

The head of police in Dubai says the hit squad which killed a senior Hamas militant last month made use of diplomatic passports.

Mahmud al-Mabhuh, a founder of the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, was found dead in his hotel room in Dubai on January 20.

The incident involved passport numbers from five Irish passports - as well as those from Britain, France and Germany.

The use of European passports has sparked a diplomatic furore in which Israeli envoys in the four countries have been summoned for talks.

However Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon yesterday insisted there would be no crisis in ties with Europe - "as Israel had nothing to do with what happened".