Observed having escaped hit squad? (7)
I believe the answer is:
noticed
'observed' is the definition.
(noticing is a kind of observing)
'escaped hit squad?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'hit' could be 'iced' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'iced' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'not' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'having' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for noticed that I've seen before include "Marked" , "Detected" , "Spotted" , "Seen" , "regarded" .)