Lebanon arrests PKK spies

The Lebanese forces have arrested three members of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for allegedly spying for Israel.

The Lebanese military intelligence service launched crackdown on foreign informants in the coastal city of Jounieh, north of the capital Beirut last week, Journal of Turkish Weekly reported on Saturday.

The ongoing operation has so far resulted in the arrest of three PKK militants among other suspected Tel Aviv-commissioned spies.

Since last year, Lebanon has arrested dozens of people, including security officials and telecom employees, on suspicion of spying for Israel.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by much of the international community, took up arms in 1984 in quest for an independent state in southeastern Turkey. The conflict has so far claimed some 45,000 lives.

The PKK militants launch their attacks from the Qandil Mountains where Israel and Israeli firms reportedly operate.

Earlier in June, Sedat Laciner, the head of Turkish think tank International Strategic Research Organization, said Israeli intelligence agents and military retirees had been sighted providing training to PKK militants in Iraqi Kurdistan.

On Tuesday, the PKK acting chief declared allegiance to Tel Aviv — amid reports that Israel had been supporting the militants in their armed campaign against Turkey.

Murat Karayilan urged Israel to sever its military ties with Turkey, which he described as a common enemy.

“Our enemies are also the enemies of Israel,” Karayilan told Israeli Channel 2 television, speaking from the group’s strongholds in the northern Iraq mountains, Reuters reported.

“Our problem lies in the military ties between Israel and Turkey. Those ties harm us,” he said.

The developments come as Ankara’s relations with Tel Aviv remain at their worst following the May 31 Israeli attack on Freedom Flotilla, a Turkish-backed aid convoy, which was sailing for the Gaza Strip. The assault in international waters killed nine Turkish human rights activists.