BREAKING NEWS Man is arrested 'for spying on British RAF base in Cyprus' as tension mounts over Israel-Iran war
Police in Cyprus have arrested a man who allegedly had an RAF base on the island 'under surveillance' on suspicion of terror-related offences and espionage, authorities said on Saturday.
The individual appeared before a district court this morning amid rising tensions in the Israel-Iran war.
The court ordered an eight-day detention pending inquiries.
No further details would be issued, police said, citing national security reasons.
Several Cypriot news outlets reported the suspect was a man of Azeri ethnic descent and had been arrested in the Zakaki suburb of the coastal city of Limassol.
The suspect was thought to have had a British RAF military base in nearby Akrotiri under surveillance, as well as Cyprus's own Andreas Papandreou Air Base in the western region of Paphos since mid-April, Cyprus's ANT1 news portal reported.
Cyprus lies very close to the Middle East and has in recent days been used as a transit point for people either leaving or going to the region amid a conflict between regional foes Israel and Iran.
Terror-related offences on the island are very rare.
84 Squadron is based at the British RAF base in Akrotiri, with extra British Typhoon planes being sent to the island in recent weeks as tensions ratchet up across the Middle East.
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