The Lebanese army has discovered a Lebanese cell suspected of working for Israel's spy agency, the Mossad, since the 1980s, the Lebanese As-Safir daily reported Saturday. The report quoted judicial and security sources as saying that the network's leader and his relative, both of whom have been arrested by the Lebanese security agencies, have confessed that they were collaborating with the Mossad.
The Lebanese army arrested the cell's leader in western Bekaa Valley after having monitored his moves inside Lebanon and his trips to Syria, the report added. While the sources refused to elaborate, residents of the western Bekaa Valley town where the arrest took place told As-Safir that security forces raided the suspect's home and confiscated his vehicle, which was fitted with a camera capable of taking clear pictures of license plates and faces.
The eyewitnesses told the Beirut-based newspaper that the man didn't have any particular job and that he often used to park his vehicle on the international highway between the Bekaa town of Chtaura and the Masnaa border crossing.
According to the report, sources close to the investigation said the suspect was recruited by the Mossad in the 1980s. They added that documents seized from the suspect's house and vehicle proved his use of high-tech equipment to contact the Israelis.
The same sources said security forces have also arrested the man's relative who confessed to monitoring the moves of high profile figures, convoys and observing sensitive sites particularly in the central Bekaa Valley.
The newspaper said the network had been entrusted over the last 20 years with monitoring several security sites, including Lebanese and Syrian army outposts and Palestinian bases in the Bekaa Valley. However, the cell has in the past few years concentrated on observing Hizbullah posts, members and convoys, the report noted.
The Lebanese investigation also revealed that the cell has been monitoring sensitive security areas in Damascus, including the area of Kfar Susa. Investigators are reportedly trying to find a link between the network and the assassination of Hizbullah military chief Imad Moughniyeh earlier this year.
