United Arab Emirates officials say at least two more fraudulent Irish passports

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates officials say at least two more fraudulent Irish passports have been linked to the alleged hit squad accused of killing a Hamas commander in Dubai. They also say some of the 18 suspects visited the Gulf city for a reconnaissance mission at least once before the Jan. 19 killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in his Dubai hotel room.The officials, who are close to the investigation, spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The latest allegations mean the list of fraudulently obtained passports tied to the killing include six British, five Irish and one French and German. Two Palestinians are in custody and three suspects remain unidentified.The UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said the Gulf country is deeply concerned that the suspected assassins used expertly doctored passports from nations that don’t require advance UAE visas.

Dubai police say at least 11 suspects used altered British, Irish, French and German passports before the Jan. 19 slaying of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.”The UAE is deeply concerned by the fact that passports of close allies, whose nationals currently enjoy preferential visa waivers, were illegally used to commit this crime,” Gargash said in a statement, carried by the Emirates’ state-run news agency WAM on Sunday.

Dubai’s police chief, Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim, has blamed Israeli’s Mossad secret service.”The abuse of passports poses a global threat, affecting both countries’ national security as well as the personal security of travelers,” the Emirates’ Foreign Minister Sheik Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan was quoted saying in the same statement.

The statement gave no updates on the investigation, but said the Emirates’ and Dubai authorities continue to scrutinize events that led to al-Mabhouh’s slaying and its aftermath. The authorities also remain in “close contact with the concerned European governments,” the statement added and listed the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Germany and Austria.Earlier this week Tamim told reporters in Dubai that the alleged assassins used foreign cell phone cards to avoid being traced while calling a “command center” in Austria.(AP)

13 suspects linked to al-Qaida arrested in Baghdad blasts last week's

al-Qaida-linked

BAGHDAD  An Iraqi Interior Ministry official says 13 suspected al-Qaida-linked insurgents are in custody as alleged planners in last week’s deadly bombings in Baghdad.The official says authorities believe the suspects are linked to al-Qaida in Iraq and helped mastermind the bombings that killed at least 127 people. They are the first arrests confirmed after Tuesday’s blasts.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.The announcement Sunday comes as Iraqi officials face another day of intense grilling in parliament over the government’s ability to handle security as U.S. troops depart.

Earlier, a top military commander told lawmakers that some security officials have been detained for negligence.The former top military commander for Baghdad says the U.S. military warned Iraqi security officials of multiple car bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital hours before suicide bombers hit government sites.

Lt. Gen. Abboud Qanbar told lawmakers Sunday that Baghdad’s security command was warned by the U.S. military that insurgents would carry out three attacks, including one in or near the Green Zone.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki replaced Qanbar as Baghdad’s military commander after angry lawmakers demanded answers about security breaches that allowed Tuesday’s bombings that killed at least 127 people.
Qanbar was speaking during the third day of parliament grilling into the third massive attacks to hit government sites since August.