Diplomats Probe Canuck Spy Claim

"We are aware of reports of the arrest," Bernard Nguyen, a spokesman at Foreign Affairs headquarters in Ottawa, said Sunday. "We have been in contact with our embassy in Cairo and we are investigating." So far, however, the department has not confirmed the man's citizenship or other details of his background. Egyptian authorities say el-Attar, a one-time student at Al-Azhar University, left his homeland in 2001 for Turkey, where he was allegedly recruited by Israeli agents. He is said to have come to Canada in 2003, with Israeli help, and was still living here when he travelled to Cairo in January and was arrested at the airport upon arrival. It's also alleged that, while in Canada, he was paid by the Israelis to spy on people of Egyptian or other Arab descent, and that he used his job at an unnamed bank to obtain information about certain accounts. His three supposed Israeli accomplices, who were charged in absentia in Cairo, were identified by the state news agency as Daniel Levi, Kemal Kosba and Tuncay Bubay. The latter two are said to hold dual Israeli-Turkish citizenship. Barbara Campion, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, wouldn't say whether the agency is taking an interest in the affair. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/02/04/pf-3523981.html

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