Turkish intelligence agency busts 'Mossad spy ring': report

Turkey's intelligence agency has uncovered a spying network operating within the country allegedly on behalf of Israel's Mossad, the pro-government Sabah newspaper reported on Monday.

The Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) was surveilling a group of seven suspects for months before it cracked the network, the report said.

During questioning, the suspects reportedly confessed to working remotely for Israel's Mossad, the Turkish daily reported.

The suspects were identified as five Arabs and Two Turkish nationals and were named and photographed in the report, which described them as being part of "the Mossad's international network".

"The MIT also determined that the Arab-origin spies... were sent to Lebanon and Syria, in particular, to gather intelligence and identify precise locations where armed drones would strike," the daily said.

They allegedly confessed during questioning to collecting intelligence on a number of foreigners living in Turkey via online routing, GPS tracking, infiltrating into their communication devices, and sometimes physically monitoring them, according to the report.

The individuals were reportedly hand-picked by the Mossad and were trained abroad, the report said, adding that the network was believed to be linked to other cells composed of a total of 56 people, and Mossad operatives were managing these cells.

Sabah has in recent months published similar reports on intelligence operations targeting Mossad in Turkey, with information apparently supplied by the authorities.