DUBAI: At Germany’s behest, Poland reportedly arrests alleged Israeli Mossad agent linked to Hamas killing

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Here’s another piece in the puzzle of a mysterious Middle East assassination in January that continues to reverberate around the world.

The website of the German magazine Der Spiegel reported (in German) on Saturday that Polish authorities, at the request of Germany, arrested an Israeli suspect connected to the January assassination of Hamas commander Mahmoud Mabhouh. The report, citing German security officials, says the suspect was traveling through Warsaw airport under the name “Uri Brodsky.”

According to Spiegel, a request by Berlin to extradite the suspect has caused a diplomatic clash with Israel, which has asked Warsaw not to comply.

According to the report, the man had accompanied an alleged Mossad operative who fraudulently obtained a German passport in Cologne last year under the name “Michael Bodenheimer,” an identity that was among those allegedly used by a member of the hit team that struck Mabhouh in his hotel room.

Agence France-Presse confirmed the diplomatic tussle over the alleged Mossad agent.

“He was arrested in Warsaw and is suspected of being involved in illegally obtaining a [German] passport,” an unnamed spokesman for German federal prosecutor told the news agency. “It’s now up to the Poles to decide if they are going to hand him over to Germany.”

It’s the latest twist in the ongoing espionage drama stemming from Mabhouh’s assassination in Dubai, allegedly at the hands of the Israeli secret service, Mossad.

At least 26 people have been linked to the killing, according to Dubai authorities.

A fuller version of the Spiegel article is to appear Monday.

-- Borzou Daragahi in Beirut