Fyra ihjälskjutna i brittisk bil vid fransk sjö (2012-09-05)

Meanwhile, it is understood that Mr Al-Hilli worked for a satellite company which is being investigated by MI5 over fears it has been targeted by foreign agencies that want to develop hostile spying operations.

A cousin of Mr Al-Hilli, who was contacted in Baghdad but refused to be identified, said: ‘If you investigate and find out about Saad’s job, you will know who’s behind his killing.’
The cousin, who lives in Istanbul but was on a business trip to Baghdad, added: ‘We have been told by the police not to say anything more.’

It is believed that French police are examining Iraqi-born Mr Al-Hilli’s work with Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL).
Intelligence sources said the company had ‘been of interest’ to MI5 for ten years during which time the security service had conducted surveillance operations on British-based individuals who had made contact with SSTL.
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It provides state-of-the-art equipment that, in the wrong hands, could be turned into spy satellites. It also stores huge amounts of data obtained from many different satellite missions that might be of interest to another state or competitor company.
SSTL declined to discuss security surrounding the firm, but confirmed that Mr Al-Hilli had been working with it since November 2010 as part of a small team on an unnamed project.
A Whitehall security source also declined to confirm or deny MI5’s interest in the company, saying only that the security service would always ‘follow the intelligence’.

A friend of Mr Al-Hilli said that the engineer was not allowed to go to Iraq during the last Gulf War, even though he told the authorities he was going to see family members.
Clarence Oddman, 47, said: ‘I don’t know why he was not allowed to go, but I know the British Government refused him permission.
‘I can’t tell you for sure if his house was put under surveillance after that. I don’t know.’