Israel sends troops to Syria, detains alleged ‘operator of Iranian terrorist network’

On Sunday (November 3), the Israeli military announced that it had detained a Syrian national allegedly acting as an Iranian intelligence agent in an operation that reportedly took place earlier this year.

For the first time in the current war, Israel announced sending troops to Syria.

The military said the man, identified as Ali Soleiman al-Assi, was an “operator of an Iranian terrorist network” and was collecting information on Israel Defense Forces (IDF) movements near the Israeli-Syrian border. Israel says it was linked to an Iranian network organizing operations in southern Syria.

Israel says Al-Assi’s capture prevented potential attacks.

“The operation by IDF soldiers to detain al-Assi prevented a future attack and led to the exposure of the operational methods of Iranian terrorist networks located near the Golan Heights,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

When was the arrest made?

Al-Assi, who is from Saida in southern Syria, is reportedly currently being held in Israel for questioning.

Israeli authorities shared few specific details about the exact timeline of al-Assi’s detention, but said “his activities included gathering intelligence on IDF (Israeli military) units in the border area for the network’s future terrorist activities.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British watchdog, reported in July an incident in which Israeli forces captured a Syrian near the village of Al-Razatiya, near the Golan Heights. The Observatory said the man, who worked as a driver, was reportedly picked up by Israeli forces who crossed the border to detain him and then taken to Israel.

“An Israeli military force consisting of three cars and an armored vehicle crossed the border, entered the village and took the man to the occupied Golan Heights,” the war monitor said.

Israel has recently been embroiled in an escalating full-scale war with Iran-backed Hezbollah. This came after Hezbollah intensified its cross-border activities, which it says support Hamas. Last year, Hezbollah carried out a wide-ranging series of attacks from Lebanon into northern Israel, and their activity increased following a major Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

(With the participation of the agency)