Israel sends troops into Syria and detains alleged ‘Iranian terrorist network operative’

On Sunday (November 3), the Israeli military announced that it had detained a Syrian national believed to be acting as an Iranian intelligence operative during an operation that reportedly took place earlier this year.

This is the first time in the current war that Israel has announced it will send troops to Syria.

The military said the man, identified as Ali Suleiman al-Assi, was an “Iranian terrorist network operative” who was collecting information on the movements of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) near the Israel-Syria border. This, Israel claims, was linked to an Iranian network organizing operations in southern Syria.

The capture of al-Assi, Israel said, had prevented potential attacks.

“The Israeli Defense Forces operation to apprehend al-Assi prevented a future attack and led to the discovery of the modus operandi of Iranian terrorist networks located near the Golan Heights,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

When did the arrest take place?

Al-Assi, believed to be from Saida in southern Syria, is now being held in Israel for questioning.

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

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

“The Israeli military, consisting of three vehicles and an armored vehicle, crossed the border, entered the village and took the man to the occupied Golan Heights,” a military observer said.

Israel recently escalated into a full-scale war with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. This comes after Hezbollah stepped up its cross-border activities, which it claims are aimed at supporting Hamas. Last year, Hezbollah launched an extensive series of attacks from Lebanon into northern Israel, with activity increasing after a major Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

(With participation of agencies)