The man murdered in his Tel Aviv apartment on Wednesday has been named as 70-year-old French chemistry expert Dr. Eli Laluz.A group called "the Brigades of the Martyr General Hassan Tahrani Moqqadam" said that it killed Laluz last Monday, December 26th . "One of our operatives entered the home of a Professor in Dizengoff street in Tel Aviv, and killed him with a knife, then he burnt the house in a complex way. The mujahideen returned to their bases in peace...The operation comes as a first response to the assassination of Marty Hassan Tahrani Moqaddam, who is an Iranian brigadier general killed in a Mossad bombing in Tehran".
Laluz was found with stab wounds in a burned out home on Dizengofff Street by emergency responders. He stated in the apartment during periodic visits to Israel.
Laluz earned his doctorate from the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot. The murder investigation continues under a gag order.
Moqqadam was an architect of the Iranian Missile program who was killed in a massive explosion in November at a missile site.
Lolav had French nationality; he stayed in that Tel Aviv apartment when he visited Israel but it is unclear if he had Israeli citizenship.
The group that claimed responsibility styles itself as an Iranian group, but its logo shows a map of British Mandate Palestine with two rifles. Here is their letter claiming responsibility:
I'm skeptical, but the Tel Aviv police would know if the detail in the letter that they killed him at 3:40 AM on Monday is realistic.
I haven't noticed any coverage of this in the French press.
(h/t CHA)
UPDATE: The murder has been solved and it had nothing to do with any Arab terror group.