Eye Spy - May 2018

EYE SPY INTELLIGENCE MAGAZINE 115 2018 21

alaysian police have

released images of two

suspects in the killing of

a leading Palestinian

engineer on 21 April

KUALA LUMPUR ATTACK

FOOTPRINT OF

Hamas Blames Israeli Spy Agency

for Death of UAV Specialist

THE MOSSAD?

M

2018. Gaza’s ruling Hamas group
      has accused Israel’s Mossad of
      being behind the shooting of Fadi
      Al Batsh, a rocket and UAV expert
      for Hamas. Political head of
      Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, said the
      killing was a “terrible crime
      committed by the Mossad.”
      Speculation is rife in intelligence
      circles that he was in some way
      involved in talks with a North
      Korean agency about the supply
      of weaponry to Gaza.

Malaysian National Police Chief

Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the

composite images of the

suspects, who appeared to be

European or Middle Eastern, were

based on eyewitness descriptions.

He said the suspects, clad in

black jackets, were fair-skinned,

well-built and had beards.

Security services said Batsh, 34,

was hit with 14 bullets fired by the

two assailants, who shot from a

motorbike as he was heading to a

mosque for dawn prayers in a

suburb near Kuala Lumpur. Police

said security video showed the

suspects had waited for him for

almost 20 minutes. In the past

decade, a number of similar

assassinations by unidentified

operatives using motor cycles,

have been carried out - primarily

targeting Iranian nuclear scientists

and defence workers. All have

been blamed on the Mossad.

Al Batsh had lived in Malaysia for

seven years and lectured at a local

museum. He was due to attend a

conference in Turkey in May.

In Tel Aviv, Israeli officials have

neither confirmed nor denied

whether its premier spy agency

was responsible for Al Batsh’s

death. However, Israel’s Defence

Minister Avigdor Lieberman

blamed internal factions inside

Hamas. “The man was no saint,”

he said. “He was involved in

improving a rocket’s accuracy...

and we often see a settling of

accounts between various

factions inside terrorist groups. I

suppose that is what happened.”

Lieberman’s overview was

rejected by Hamas officials.

The assassination followed the

death of another Hamas UAV

expert. Mohamed Zouari was a

Tunisian-based specialist who

was killed by gunmen on 15

December 2016. In this case he

perished when assassins fired

several shots into his car using

silencers. Zouari was a member of

the Izz al-Din al Qassam Brigades

and was a prominent figure in the

development of the Ababil UAV.

Hamas blamed the Mossad for

that attack.

E-fits of the two gunmen wanted in connection with the incident

Avigdor Lieberman

Fadi Al Batsh

Ababil UAV (Hezbollah variant)

Inset: Mohamed Zouari

Hamas leader

Ismail Haniyeh