Gaza: Mahmoud Al Mabhouh, the Hamas commander assassinated in Dubai, used the same tradecraft — fraudulent passports and disguises — as his killers during secret missions to procure arms for the group, a confidant said yesterday.
From shooting at a car that drove repeatedly past his home in Syria — he later discovered it belonged to Syrian minders — to shunning room service in hotels, Al Mabhouh took his personal security very seriously.
"He used to wear coloured contact lenses and dye his hair when travelling to European countries," said the confidant, who is based in the Gaza Strip, an enclave run by Hamas. He said he spent two years in exile with Al Mabhouh.
"He used to supply money and arms to Hamas and other allied factions," the confidant said.
"He had many passports of different nationalities — all Arab," he added. "Recently he underwent surgery to reshape his nose. It became narrower."
Al Mabhouh was killed last month in his hotel room in what Dubai police say they are almost certain was a hit by Israel's Mossad spy agency. Dubai police have not commented officially on the passport Al Mahbouh used to enter the emirate. Al Mabhouh's brother said the Hamas commander arrived in Dubai on a Palestinian passport that listed his family name as Hassan.
"[Al Mabhouh] never led a normal life. He was suspicious, careful, and he never told anyone, not even his wife, of his future or immediate plans," the confidant said, adding that Al Mabhouh used Arab passports to enter European countries because they aroused less suspicion.
The confidant said Al Mabhouh was constantly travelling, booking his tickets himself at travel agents or over the Internet, but had not visited Iran in the past three years.
