Murder suspects still in Malaysia
Hamas has accused Israeli regime’s spy agency Mossad of assassinating Al Batsh
Two men suspected of gunning down a Palestinian lecturer in Kuala Lumpur were still in the country, police said yesterday, as they released a fresh image of one of the men.
Two men on a high-powered motorcycle fired at least 14 shots at Fadi Al Batsh, an engineering lecturer, outside his apartment building on Saturday, killing him on the spot.
A Kawasaki motorcycle was found abandoned near a lake about nine minutes from the scene, from which police were able to trace a photo of one of the suspects, Inspector-General of Police Mohammad Fuzi Haroun told reporters.
The suspects were believed to have entered Malaysia sometime in late January, but it was not known what nationalities they were or where they had travelled from, said Haroun.
“We believe the suspects are still in the country,” he said.
“We have yet to identify them, but we suspect that they used fake identification either when entering the country or when they were here.”
Authorities had originally released computer-generated photographs of the suspects, who witnesses described as well-built and light-skinned, possibly Middle Eastern or European.
A new photo of one of the suspects shows a light-skinned man with dark, wavy hair and a prominent goatee.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said on Saturday the suspects were believed to be Europeans with links to a foreign intelligence agency.
Hamas, an Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip, has accused Israel’s Mossad spy agency of assassinating Al Batsh, who they say was a member of their group. Haroun said the killing appeared “very professionally done”.
Al Batsh’s body was to be returned to Gaza via Cairo, Egypt later yesterday, after a funeral ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, Palestine’s ambassador to Malaysia Anwar Al Agha told Reuters.