Egypt investigates four men charged of spying for Israel

Investigation is continuing on the cases of an Egyptian who faces charges of spying for Israel with three Israelis still at large, a senior Egyptian security official said on Sunday.

The 31-year-old Mohammed al-Attar had been followed by Egyptian intelligence agents before he was arrested at Cairo International Airport on Jan. 1 so that his involvement in the alleged espionage activities could be known, the official told Xinhua by phone on the condition of anonymity.

Al-Attar, who holds Canadian citizenship, was charged of " harming Egypt's national interests" by the Egyptian Supreme State Security Prosecution, the official added.

Three Israeli intelligence officers recruited Al-Attar while he was visiting Turkey on a tourist visa in 2001 for the task of persuading a number of Egyptians and other Arab citizens in Turkey and Canada to work for the Israeli intelligence in return for generous sums of money, it was learned.

Al-Attar is expected to face trial before the Egyptian state security court, and the three Israeli intelligence officers, whose whereabouts are still unknown, would also be judged by default, according to a judicial source.

Source: Xinhua