**Two British men named as members of a hit squad suspected of killing a top Hamas official in Dubai have spoken of their shock.**Israel-based Melvyn Mildiner, 31, told the Jerusalem Post he “went to bed with pneumonia and woke up a murderer”.
Dubai police have issued arrest warrants for 11 “agents with European passports” suspected in last month’s killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.
The six British and three Irish passports used were said to be fake.
Kent-born Paul Keeley, 42, who has lived on a Kibbutz in northern Israel for the past 15 years, told a UK newspaper he had not left the country in two years.
“Someone, somewhere decided to use my identity for something”
Melvyn Mildiner
History of Israel’s ‘covert killing’
The builder told the Daily Telegraph it was “all very worrying” but he had done nothing wrong.
“When I first heard about this I immediately looked to make sure my passport was still there and it was,” he said.
“It has not been stolen so I don’t know what on earth has happened.”
‘Genuine citizens’
Mr Mildiner told the Jerusalem Post he had gone to bed on Monday night with pneumonia and woke up to find he was wanted by the Dubai police because of his UK passport.
“First, clearly it isn’t me. It doesn’t look like me,” he said. “The details are not correct. The date of birth is wrong. I’ve never been to Dubai. Someone, somewhere decided to use my identity for something.”
He said he was “angry” that his identity had apparently been stolen, adding he had been inundated with interview requests from international media.
The other Britons were named as James Leonard Clarke, Stephen Daniel Hodes, Michael Lawrence Barney and Jonathan Lewis Graham.
But the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We believe the passports used were fraudulent and have begun our own investigation.”
The Irish suspects were named as Gail Folliard, Evan Dennings and Kevin Daveron.
On Tuesday, a spokesman for Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs said: “We are unable to identify any of those three individuals as being genuine Irish citizens.”
Another two men, one using a French passport and one using a German passport, are also suspected of playing parts in the assassination.
‘Professional hit’
Mr Mabhouh was murdered in his hotel room in Dubai on 20 January.
Reports have suggested he was in Dubai to buy weapons for Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. Hamas have accused Israeli agents of killing him.
Two Palestinian suspects were being questioned about the murder. Police said they had “fled to Jordan” after the killing, without releasing their names.
Officials in Dubai said the team appeared to be a professional hit squad, probably sponsored by a foreign power.
They released CCTV footage which they said showed some of the suspects in disguises, including wigs and false beards, in the hotel near Dubai’s international airport.
The suspects allegedly trailed Mr Mabhouh when he arrived in Dubai from Syria, paid for everything in cash and used various mobile phones.