An Israeli intelligence officer has been arrested by Libyan security forces in the northeastern city of Benghazi, according to a leading Israeli website called Inian Merkazi.
The Mossad agent had infiltrated the ranks of the so called Islamic State in Libya. It is also being reported that the spy, who has been identified as Ephraim Benjamin, had intermingled with local Libyans during the 2011 revolution that resulted in the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi. An Arabic website called Masr Alarabia have claimed that Benjamin was one of Mossad's 'Arabists' - agents who are characterized by Arab features, who speak Arabic fluently and are well versed in the Islamic scriptures.
Israel's deadly intelligence service
Israel's secretive and deadly intelligence agency is known for its Hollywood style infiltration tactics. Back in 2014, one of Mossad's 'Arabists' had successfully perforated the higher ranks of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The man was later arrested but at one point was in charge of supervising security for the group's leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Inian Merkazi also report that Benjamin had risen to become a prominent imam of a large mosque in Benghazi which is Libya's second largest city. Being an imam, his reputation and popularity soared, which later saw him become a commander for the Islamic State with at least 200 fighters under his charge.
Benjamin went by the alias Abu Hafs.
The Libyan authorities detained him on charges of espionage.
Mossad is shrouded in secrecy. But the already secretive organisation has an even more mysterious department within itself called Kidon, which is Hebrew for bayonet. This secret operations unit is responsible for overseas espionage and assassinations. Almost nothing is known about this unit but it is largely suspected that it was behind Operation Wrath of God which systematically executed the terrorists who massacred eleven members of Israel's Olympics team in Munich in 1972.
US military condemn truce between ISIS & Lebanese army
Earlier this week, the Islamic State struck a deal with Hezbollah and the Lebanese and Syrian armies granting safe passage to over three hundred of their trained fighters and their relatives from the Lebanese-Syrian border to the Deir al-Zour province in eastern Syria. This caused a stir among American military authorities in the region who have strongly condemned the action.
