Lebanese authorities claim to have busted Israeli spy network, arrest 2 suspects at Beirut airport

Lebanese authorities on Friday busted an “Israeli spy network” with two arrestsat the Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport in the Lebanese capital, local media reported.

Two suspects were arrested at the airport while attempting to flee the country, Lebanon’s chief of public security Major General Elias Al-Bisari said, according to the Times of Israel newspaper.

He said that both of them were “carrying out certain operations inside Lebanon and tried to exit through the airport and were arrested.”

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“Based on investigations and confessions, they were transferred to the competent military judiciary, and we will announce at a later stage the details about this cell that posed a threat to Lebanon,” he was quoted as saying.

"We carried out an investigation and determined that this cell posed a danger to Lebanon," the official further said.

"The fight against terrorism is a priority and the fight against spy networks set up by the Israeli enemy is an absolute priority,"Al-Baysari added.

No details provided

He, however, did not offer any further details of the arrest.

The announcement came during the seventy-eighth anniversary of General Security, during a visit to the directorate by Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi.

Over the years, the Lebanese security services have arrested dozens on suspicions of collaborating with Israel, with some receiving jail terms of up to 25 years.

In May, Turkey National Intelligence Organization and the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office claimed that they had arrested a 11-person “Mossad cell” operating in Turkey.

The Turkish media said that the investigation into the cell was carried out over a period of one and a half years. Turkish authorities reportedly discovered that the cell had targeted one company and 23 individuals who conducted commercial relations with Iran.

(With inputs from agencies)

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