A Palestinian specialist in energy sciences and a lecturer of a private university in Kuala Lumpur was shot dead near his house early Saturday. His family accused the Israeli Mossad of being behind what it said was an assassination.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Mazlan Lazim said the 35-year-old man was shot by one of two men on a high-powered motorcycle at the pedestrian walkway there.

The Palestinian Embassy in Malaysiainfo-icon identified the victim as Fadi Al Batsh.

Malaysian police chief in Gombak district, Mazlan Lazim, said that two gunmen on a motorcycle fired more than 14 bullets at Batsh as he was leaving his house to attend dawn prayer at a nearby mosque. One bullet hit him in the head and the rest hit his body killing him immediately. He said police has opened an investigation.

Batsh was an inventor and a private university lecturer. He hails from the town of Jabalya in the Gazainfo-icon Strip. Batsh had won a prestigious scholarship in Malaysia, the Khazanah Scholarship, and was awarded the Best Academic Achievement award given by the scholarship administration.

Batshs family accused the Israeli Mossad of his assassination. It told Palestinian news agency (WAFA) that it has demanded from the Malaysian authorities to begin urgent investigation into the killing of its son in order to catch the culprits before they leave the country.

In December 2016, Palestinian expert and engineer Mohamed Zouari was shot dead in Tunisiainfo-icon in an assassination also blamed on the Mossad. (QNA)