Egypt claims Israeli spy ring uncovered

Egyptian government officials announced Sunday that they had captured an espionage network in the country that was working for several foreign intelligence organizations, including Israel’s.

According to Egyptian news reports, 12 suspects were arrested by Egyptian security services. Three of the suspects were Egyptians, and the remainder had entered the country as tourists, the Ynet news site reported.

The Egyptian newspaper Alyoum Sabaa said the suspects had gathered information on the current political climate in Egypt. Presidential elections, the first since the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi was elected into power, are expected to take place later this month.

In February 2014, Egyptian authorities charged four people for spying for Israel’s Mossad. Eight others were tried, including five Israelis and three Egyptians, on similar charges in a court in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia. The Israelis were tried in absentia.