KUALA LUMPUR: Two men suspected of gunning down a Palestinian lecturer in Kuala Lumpur are still in the country, police said on Wednesday, 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, said Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun.
The suspects were believed to have entered Malaysia in late January, but their nationalities and where they had traveled from, remain unknown, said Mohamad Fuzi.
“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.
Body taken to Egypt
The body of the assassinated Palestinian scientist was on Wednesday driven through the Malaysian capital accompanied by a crowd shouting “God is greatest,” as mourners accused Israel of killing him.
Al-Batsh’s corpse was set to be flown to Egypt later in the day before being transported on to Gaza for burial.
Family and friends of the 35-year-old have accused Israel’s Mossad spy agency of carrying out the killing but the Jewish state has denied the claims.
Hundreds of mourners marched through the capital under Palestinian flags accompanying a van holding the body, as they carried placards showing the victim’s face.
The remains were taken to a mosque, where prayers for the dead were performed before about 500 mourners.
“Every Palestinian who has heard of this assassination is saddened and shocked,” Muslim Imran, chairman of the Palestinian Cultural Organization of Malaysia, told the crowd.
“This crime, I believe, is another reflection of the nature of the Israeli occupation. They carry out crimes, massacres, not only in Palestine but also in the rest of the world.”
Earlier Wednesday police said they believed the two suspects accused of carrying out the hit were still in the country, and released a photograph of one of them.
It showed a man with wavy black hair, glasses and a goatee beard. Police previously released two computer-generated images of the suspects, showing two light-skinned men with beards.
Mossad is believed to have assassinated Palestinian militants and scientists in the past, but rarely confirms such operations.
Batsh’s expertise in making weapons could have made him a target — militants in Hamas-ruled Gaza regularly fire rockets at southern Israel, usually without causing casualties.
But Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has denied claims of the Jewish state’s involvement, suggesting instead that it was a “settling of accounts” between factions of a terror group.
