Who are Kevin and Gail? Tape reveals much, but not all in slaying of Hamas agent

Dubai killing: a closer look

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — “Look,” said Dubai’s police chief. “There is Gail and Kevin.”

The video he was pointing to was a compilation of clips from security cameras that show the events surrounding the assassination of Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

At his one and only news conference since the body was discovered Jan. 20 in a room at the Al-Bustan Rotana Hotel in Dubai, Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim, the police chief, gave a detailed audiovisual timetable of what happened.

They presentation begins with video of alleged members of the hit team passing through the mammoth, white-tiled Terminal 3 at Dubai’s International Airport. The faces are blurry and pixel-pocked in the tape, but Tamim confidently identified them, using only their first names.

In one clip, the light-haired “Gail” goes into a hotel bathroom and emerges later in a dark wig. In another, the balding “Kevin” reappears with a thick dark toupee and mustache and heavy black-rimmed glasses.

Al-Mabhouh arrived at the hotel at about 3:30 p.m. as the lobby pianist was wrapping up her set. It was nearly 26 C (79 F) outside, so Al-Mabhouh stood out in his brown winter coat. After checking in, he rode the elevator to the second floor — and two suspects in tennis gear joined him.

On Mabhouh’s floor, another camera picks him up emerging and heading to his room, no. 230. One of the “tennis men” discreetly strolls behind him. He wants to see what room he enters, Dubai police say. The other mills in front of the elevator, speaking into a device in his hand, until his partner returns.

Soon after, a different team member calls the Rotana from another hotel to book Room 237 — directly across the hall from al-Mabhouh’s. Police say room 237 served as their base to carry out the attack.

At 4:23 p.m., Al-Mabhouh leaves the hotel.

“Gail” and “Kevin” head up to Room 237.

6:21 p.m.: “Gail” is seen taking bags down to the parking lot. Police said she gave them to the “execution team,” possibly including a change of clothes and disguises.

6:32 p.m.: The first two-man “execution team” enters the hotel, goes up in the elevator and heads down the hall toward 237. Two minutes later, a second pair joins them. They are all dressed in similar fashion: untucked dress or polo shirts and baseball caps.

8:00 p.m.: Someone tries unsuccessfully to enter and reprogram the electronic lock on the door of al-Mabhouh’s room, according to hotel records. The attempt is aborted by “Kevin,” who is keeping watch by the elevators when a tourist arrives on the floor looking for his room, police say. In the footage, “Kevin,” posing as a hotel employee, stops the potbellied tourist, chats with him amiably, looks at his key card, smiles, then finally lets him pass down the hall.

8:24 p.m.: Al-Mabhouh returns carrying a shopping bag. A camera shows him turning the corner toward Room 230. He looks relaxed. It’s the last image of him alive.

Moments later, “Gail” emerges from the hallway and passes by the elevators, talking on a cell phone. She passes under a security camera, a broad smile flashing on her face. She and “Kevin” loiter there — keeping watch, police say, as the killing takes place.

It took only 10 minutes, police say. Al-Mabhouh was a burly man, but no match for a possible team of four assassins.

Forensic tests indicate he was first injected in the thigh with a fast-acting muscle relaxant called succinylcholine, which is said to be hard to detect. Then he was suffocated with a pillow, police said.

8:46 p.m.: The four members of the “execution team” emerge from the hallway and descend in the elevators. Nothing appears wrong. They chat and walk at a casual pace. One carries a sack and two others have backpacks slung over their shoulders. Moments later, “Gail” and “Kevin” leave separately.

Al-Mabhouh’s body was found early the next afternoon. By then, all the suspects had left Dubai, police said.