by : Sharon Spiteri
The Times, Malta : November 9th 1995
The police have received information from Interpol detailing how the assassins of an Islamic Jihad leader killed in Malta last month left the island. Police sources told The Times the information was sent on Monday night but would not reveal the contents of the message For security reasons.
But other sources said the police were working on the theory that the men left the island on board a private plane hired from a local company and flown by a Maltese pilot.
Fathi Shqaqi. 43. was shot in the head five times at close range just after 1:00pm last October 26th. The police know of two killers, who rode up to their victim on a blue Yamaha found in Manwel Dimech Street, Sliema five minutes away from the scene of the crime in Tower Road.
What is still very unclear and what police have so far refused to say is whether they have established how the killers got from Manwel Dimech Street to the airport. The smartly dressed Islamic Jihad leader was at first identified as a Libyan passport holder bearing the name Ibrahim Ali A. Shawesh.
Meanwhile, sources at the Palace Tower said they were still not expecting a ferry from Libya after the daily crossing was suspended on October 31.