Report in Lebanon: Another spy for Israel arrested

Security sources tell Al Akhbar newspaper citizen admitted to cooperating with Israeli intelligence for more than a decade; in the past man's Bulgarian wife claimed he was kidnapped

Roi Kais|Published: 01.26.13 , 13:35

After Hezbollah announced the capture of the "highest paid" spy for Israel, Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar reported Saturday that intelligence personnel arrested a citizen suspected of cooperating with Israeli intelligence.

The newspaper, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, quoted sources as saying the detainee, who in the past has lived in a southern suburb of Beirut, admitted he had cooperated with Israel for more than a decade and worked for the Israelis in Lebanon and Europe.

The report said the man's wife is a Bulgarian national who previously told Lebanese media that Hezbollah had kidnapped her husband. Al Akhbar further reported that some media outlets affiliated with the March 14 coalition, which opposes Hezbollah, claimed the man's "disappearance" was connected to the terror attack on Israeli tourists in the Bulgarian resort city of Burgas last July.

Security sources said Bulgarian authorities have already contacted Lebanon and asked for information regarding the man's fate.

Last week the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV reported that the Lebanese army arrested a citizen suspected of collaborating with Israel. Ali Taufiq Yari, a former member of the Baalbek City Council, was branded as the highest paid spy to date, as he was said to have received $600,000 for his service to the Jewish state.

According to the report, Yari began working with Israel's Mossad in 1990, and had undergone intelligence training that taught him to use invisible ink, concealed radio devices and other means of communication.

On Friday the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi revealed new details on the affair, reporting that Yari is a top Hezbollah operative in the Baalbek area and that his arrest has raised the level of suspicion within the terror group.