Syrians arrest suspected spy

An Israeli newspaper report says the authorities in Syria have arrested a manon suspicion of passing information to the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency.

The report, in the Haaretz newspaper, says the arrested Syrian was close to the government.

He was allegedly recruited by Yehuda Gil, the disgraced Israeli agent arrested two months ago and charged with embezzling thousands of dollars and feeding false information to the Mossad, which hightened tensions between Israel and Syria.

The Haaretz newspaper said that the news of Gil's arrest had sparked a search for spies in Syria.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service