Hamas leader drugged, suffocated: Dubai police

A Hamas leader who was killed in his Dubai hotel room, allegedly by Mossad agents, was drugged and then suffocated to death, police said on Sunday.

A Hamas leader who was killed in his Dubai hotel room, allegedly by Mossad agents, was drugged and then suffocated to death, police said on Sunday.

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"The killers used the drug succinylcholine to sedate (Mahmud) al-Mabhuh before they suffocated him," the statement quoted Major General Khamis Mattar al-Mazeina, deputy commander of Dubai police, as saying.

"The assassins used this method so that it would seem that his death was natural," the statement said, adding that "there were no signs of resistance shown by the victim."

Succinylcholine is used to induce muscle relaxation and is favoured by anaesthetists and emergency doctors because of its fast onset.

Mabhuh, one of the founders of Hamas' military wing, was found dead in his hotel room on January 20.

Israeli intelligence service Mossad has widely been accused of carrying out the Cold War-style hit.