A Lebanese reserve officer with a rank comparable to brigadier general has been arrested for cooperating with Israeli intelligence, according to Tuesday's edition of the Lebanese newspaper al-Ahbar. According to the newspaper, the officer admitted to meeting his Israeli operators on a regular basis in Europe during the ten years since his retirement from the Lebanese military administration but only passed along information and did not take part in any active campaigns.
The officer - identified as Adiv "Ayin" - from the southern village of Ramish, was arrested Saturday, three months after Lebanese security officials started trailing a group of suspects who frequented areas of eastern Beirut, northern Lebanon and the southern part of the country, especially the area south of the Litani river. "Ayin"'s wife was also arrested and provided details that he did not provide. A senior Lebanese security officer called "Ayin" a very important person and said the investigation could yield sensitive and valuable information.