Israeli army captures alleged Iranian intelligence operative in Syria

Jerusalem, Nov 4 (IANS) The Israeli military has said they have detained a man in Syria allegedly gathering intelligence on Israel's army in the border area.

In a statement on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) identified the man as Ali Soleiman al-Assi, a Syrian national, describing him as "an Iranian terror network operative".

The IDF said al-Assi was "detained" and transferred to Israel, and that the operation took place "in recent months" as reported by Xinhua news agency.

"His activities included gathering intelligence on IDF troops in the border area for future terror activity of the network," the IDF said.

Video footage released by the IDF shows soldiers from the Egoz commando unit, along with field interrogators, conducting a nighttime raid on a one-storey building. The footage later shows the arrest of a man inside the building, his hands cuffed behind his back.

In another clip, the man is shown during one of his interrogations, saying he was approached by a person who he later learned was linked to Iranian intelligence.

He was instructed to "just observe the border" and report on military movements, such as tank and patrol activities.

--IANS

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