6 held for spying for Israel

2010-02-26 20:02

Beirut - The Lebanese army has arrested six more people on suspicion of spying for Israel, a security source said on Friday.

He said the suspects, arrested in four separate raids this week, were being questioned about providing Israel with information on Hezbollah members and their movements.

He said some of the suspects were found to have sophisticated communication devices in their possession.

On Wednesday, Lebanon's military prosecutor indicted three Lebanese with spying for Israel as part of an espionage investigation lasting nearly a year in which at least 27 suspects have been detained.
Israel has not commented on the arrests.

Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and Syria, has called for the death penalty for all suspects convicted of spying for Israel. Hezbollah and Israel fought a 34-day war in 2006.

The wave of arrests began in April 2009 with the detention of a former brigadier general of the General Security directorate.

Senior Lebanese security officials have said the arrests dealt a major blow to Israel's spying networks in Lebanon and that many of the suspects had played key roles in identifying Hezbollah targets that were bombed during the 2006 war.

Other suspects have been charged with monitoring senior Hezbollah officials and at least one is alleged to have played a role in the 2004 assassination of a commander of the group.

Lebanese courts have handed down what were widely seen as light sentences against nationals who have worked with the Israeli occupation and its local militias after Israeli forces ended a 22-year occupation of mainly Shi'ite south Lebanon in May 2000.

- Reuters