Israeli military says it seized Iran agent in cross-border Syria raid

No official Syrian reaction to reported capture of Ali Al Assi, who pro-Iranian media say is a milkman

A crater near the Jusiya border crossing between Syria and Lebanon, one of several Syrian sites hit by recent Israeli air strikes. AFP

Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza

An Israeli commando unit captured an agent of Iran in a cross-border raid into Syria, the military said. The announcement comes two days after marine commandos seized a suspected Hezbollah operative on the Lebanese coast, as Israel intensifies operations in both countries.

Ground forces are being used increasingly for specific missions inside Syria, as Israel piles pressure on Damascus to distance itself from Iran. Syrian authorities have responded with moves that appear designed to curb the operational scope of pro-Iranian militias in the country, although these groups have retained their freedom of movement 13 months into the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Lebanese and Syrian media outlets loyal to Iran confirmed Israeli forces had penetrated the Syrian province of Qunaitra, west of Damascus, in July and arrested Ali Al Assi, described by the outlets as a milkman. He was reportedly based in an area adjacent to a 1974 armistice line between Syrian and Israeli troops in the occupied Golan Heights. The line was drawn a year after a war launched by Syria, alongside Egypt, failed to regain the area.

In a televised interrogation broadcast by the Israeli military, Mr Al Assi said he had been recruited by a member of Syria's Military Intelligence because he lived in a "good area" from where he could monitor Israeli troop movements.

He gave examples of information he had relayed: an Israeli tank "moving here or there, or an Israeli patrol that passed by at such and such hour". He said it was clear that the Military Intelligence personnel who recruited him were acting on behalf of Iran. There was no official Syrian reaction to Mr Al Assi's capture.

Military Intelligence, the most powerful of several Syrian secret police divisions, is controlled by Brig Gen Maher Al Assad, a brother of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad. Brig Gen Al Assad is widely regarded as the main facilitator for the activities of Iran and its proxies in Syria.

Waiel Olwan, senior researcher at the Jusoor Centre for Studies in Istanbul, said the capture of Mr Al Assi was part of intensified Israeli operations to dismantle "the security and economic infrastructure of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria". By taking him alive, he said, Israel is hoping to gain more information about "local networks" Hezbollah has been recruiting.

Hezbollah poured militiamen and hardware into Syria shortly after a revolt against President Al Assad in 2011. During the ensuing civil war, Hezbollah, along with Iraqi militias, became the enforcers of an Iranian-controlled corridor running across Syria to Lebanon, the Golan Heights and Jordan. Israel has struck targets in the corridor hundreds of times over the past decade.

Israel has also stepped up attacks in Syria against figures linked to Tehran since its troops reportedly stormed an Iranian-controlled weapons development compound in Masyaf, central Syria in September. Days later, Israeli warplanes struck a villa in a Damascus suburb frequented by Brig Gen Al Assad. Although there were no reports of casualties, the attack was seen as a signal that Syria's top brass were no longer immune from Israeli assaults.

An Israeli military spokesman said Mr Al Assi's capture thwarted a planned attack by Iranian "terrorist" networks and that he had been seized in "recent months". The announcement of the ground operation was a rare acknowledgement of Israeli military activities in Syria.

On Friday, Israeli marine commandos abducted a ship captain from the town of Batroun in northern Lebanon during an operation launched from the sea. The man was a senior Hezbollah member, a military official told The National, and was being investigated by one of Israel's military intelligence units.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati instructed his Foreign Minister to file an urgent complaint with the UN Security Council over the kidnapping. Hezbollah issued a statement labelling it “Zionist aggression” but the group did not confirm whether the man captured was one of its members.