The Mossad detains in Iran the leader of a terrorist cell that planned an attack against Israelis in Cyprus

June 29 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Israel’s foreign intelligence service, the Mossad, reported on Thursday that it has arrested the leader of a terrorist cell in Iranian territory who was planning an attack against Israeli citizens in Cyprus.

“In a unique mission inside Iranian territory, the Mossad was able to capture the mastermind of the terrorist cell, who later admitted (the facts) during an interrogation,” he reported in a statement collected by the newspaper ‘The Jerusalem Post’.

The leader of the terrorist cell, Shahabazi Abbasalilu, allegedly received detailed instructions from senior commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to carry out terrorist actions on the island, although Tehran has not commented for the moment.

Cypriot security forces claimed on Sunday that they had thwarted an attempted attack against Israeli residents on the island, allegedly related to the Revolutionary Guard, Iran’s elite military and ideological body.

The Cypriot secret services followed the individuals for several months with the collaboration of other intelligence agencies from allied countries -mainly the United States and Israel- and thus managed to thwart the attempted attack.

The suspects reportedly reached the Greek Cypriot side from the Turkish Cypriot side by taking advantage of unguarded border points. The Cypriot Police seized material from the main person in charge of the cell, who managed to flee.