5 Arrested in Africa Accused of Plotting Attacks on Israelis for Iran

Five people were arrested in African countries by local authorities, accused of planning to carry out attacks on behalf of Iran against Israeli tourists or businesspeople in the countries.  The targets of the five suspects, who all have African passports, were Israelis and Jews visiting Tanzania, Senegal and Ghana, Israel’s Channel 12 news first reported on Sunday night. The five people who were arrested were recruited by Iran’s Quds Force, the special operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, according to the report. They were given special training and equipment in Lebanon and then sent back to Africa to target Israelis and Jews; their cover story was that they were religious students.  Among their targets were Israeli tourists on safari in Tanzania, according to the report. They were arrested before they could put any plans into action, however. The arrested suspects reportedly are still being questioned. Iran has denied any connection to the operatives.