The Islamic Hamas movement said Saturday here that Khaled Mashaal has voiced his intention not to run for the re-election for head of Hamas politburo.

In a statement faxed to Xinhua, Hamas said Mashaal announced this intention during the last meeting of Hamas' Shura Council, adding that he has reiterated his commitment to going on with his role in serving his people and their cause.

The statement said leaders of Hamas have urged Mashaal to reverse his stand and leave this issue to be decided by the council, adding that the leaders consider this issue as a "public one to be decided by Hamas' institutions and not a pure personal one."

Some Hamas members have left Damascus for "personal reasons" or for jobs, the statement said.

Mashaal, based in Syria, has been a member of Hamas politburo since it was established in the 1980s. In 1996, he was elected as the head of the political bureau.

In another statement also issued on Saturday, Hamas politburo dismissed media reports claiming that the Syrian government has detained Mashaal's daughter.

The London-based ELAPH, an Arabic-language on-line newspaper, said the Syrian government has launched a series of harassments against Mashaal and has recently arrested his daughter, Fatemah, and her husband, for alleged financial corruption.

The reports were "fabricated and absolutely baseless," said the Hamas statement, adding that the reports aimed to create confusion.

"We sharply denounce such tendentious news," it said.