Security forces arrest three more suspects in Mossad busts
Security forces continued to conduct raids and searches throughout the country on Friday, as part of a campaign to sweep up cells of suspected Israeli agents. The National News Agency (NNA) said two men and a woman had been detained in the last 24 hours. It said that the Interior Security Forces” Intelligence Branch arrested Khalil Nabaa from the southern village of Shebaa on suspicion of collaborating with Israel; Nabaa is the brother-in-law of 28-year-old Khulud Nabaa, who was detained earlier.
The Intelligence Branch also arrested Mustafa S., from the village of Qusayr, Nabatieh, on the same suspicion. The three are being interrogated at security centers in south Lebanon, the NNA reported. The ages of the male detainees were not disclosed.
Security sources told The Daily Star that Mustafa S. was apprehended on the Beirut-Sidon highway, after a 30-hour bid to escape capture. The sources said he fled Qusayr for Sidon, and then attempted to reach the capital. His homes in Qusayr, Sidon and Beirut were all being searched, the sources said. The sources said Mustafa S. was connected to his brother-in-law, Nasser Nader, who was arrested earlier this week in a sweep in the southern village of Ghandourieh.
The Central News Agency, citing security sources, said that more arrests were expected in the coming days.
The agency said that Intelligence Branch personnel also raided homes in Shebaa and Shtoura belonging to Ziad Saadi, who is also from Shebaa, and has been detained as part of the drive to uncover Mossad networks. Warehouse space allegedly rented by Saadi in the Bekaa town of Qabb Elias was raided, it said, adding that paint and construction materials, along with other undisclosed items, were discovered in the search.
Separately, Army Commander General Jean Kahwaji urged military personnel to maintain readiness against the Israeli enemy and continue the efforts to "dismantle its networks," in a statement released to mark Liberation Day on May 25.