Suspected Spy Claims Mossad Sabotaged Egypt's Internet Access

A suspected Mossad spy arrested in Egypt allegedly told his interrogators that the Israeli intelligence service damaged undersea data cables that severely crippled the country's Internet access two years ago.

The allegation refers to an incident in December 2008 when three high-speed Internet cables passing through the Mediterranean sea were cut.

Official reports at the time claimed the cables were damaged by the anchors of ships that entered the no-go zones because of bad weather.

The cuts reduced Egypt's Internet traffic by 80% and caused severe disruptions of communications between the Middle East, Asia and the rest of the world.

The revelation that Mossad might be responsible came after an Egyptian newspaper obtained official records concerning the interrogation of Tareq Abdul Razzaq Hassan.

An Egyptian national and businessman, Hassan is being investigated under the suspicion of spying for Israel and its intelligence service.

No other details about how the sabotage was allegedly carried out have been disclosed and The Telegraph suggests that the report should be taken with a grain of salt.

This is because there have been reports in the past of police brutality and human rights violations during interrogations in Egypt.

This makes it possible that Hassan's confession, who also admitted to recruiting spies in Syria and Egypt, was obtained under significant pressure.

It is also unclear why Israel would want to damage its relationship with Egypt, one of the only two Arab countries it has full diplomatic ties with.

Some people have attributed the string of accusations against Israel that came from Egypt lately, as political attempts to gather support from a general public displeased with failed peace talks in Palestine.

Israel is usually blamed by the Arab countries for many of the cyber attacks occurring in the region. The infamous Stuxnet malware, which is believed to have targeted Iran's nuclear program, was attributed by some reports to the Mossad.