A new report has surfaced in which more than one dozen CIA spies are said to have been captured by Hezbollah officials operating in Lebanon and Iran.

According to reports the CIA “spies” were paid informants who were operating in two distinct espionage rings that targeted operations in Iran and Beirut.

Speaking to ABC News one U.S. official confirmed the loss of various spied and added:

“Espionage is a risky business” and ”Many risks lead to wins, but some result in occasional setbacks.”

The spies were being used specifically to track the Iranian nuclear program while documenting the intentions of Hezbollah actions against Israel.

Speaking about the importance of tracking Hezbollah a U.S. official told ABC News:

“Remember, this group was responsible for killing more Americans than any other terrorist group before 9/11.”

In the meantime some officials are pointing the blame for the CIA’s failure to protect their spies on sloppy procedures that allowed identities to be revealed.

News of captured CIA spies is hardly a new revelation, in June Hezbollah leader Sheik Nassah Nasrallah said on national television that two CIA spies had been found within his ranks, although proof of those captures were never broadcast.

In explaining the reach of Hezbollah last year the State Department called the group ”the most technically capable terrorist group in the world.” It’s believed that the terrorist group receives between $100 million and $200 million per year in funding from Iran. According to reports Hezbollah in 2010 began using the best in commercial software to hunt down spies in their ranks digitally. The software searched for anamolies in cellphone data such as devices that were used only for short periods of time or always in the same exact location. The terrorist group has also been steadily picking up the pace when it comes to “old-fashioned detective work.”

Various CIA Spies Caught In Lebanon And Iran is a post from: The Inquisitr

The FBI has released surveillance footage of Anna Chapman (above) and other Russian sleeper spies secretly exchanging information and money between themselves.

The footage comes from an FBI investigation that lasted close to a decade, and concluded with the biggest spy swap between the United States and Russia since the Cold War.

Anna Chapman’s involvement has turned her into an international celebrity (though Chapman herself still refuses to confirm or deny whether she was a spy), and she is now a television presenter and lingerie model back in Russia.

In the newly released footage, Chapman is filmed meeting a fellow Russian agent in a coffee shop (during this encounter, the FBI alleges she sent coded messages), and also visiting Macy’s in New York City in January 2010.

Other members of the spy ring were filmed burying money in a clump of weeds, handing off documents and cash while passing one another in subway tunnels (a technique known as a ‘brush pass’), or simply taking their kids for a walk.

The FBI believes the spy ring were ‘talent spotters’ – that is, they were under orders to identify high-level individuals who may be interested in sharing information on subjects such as defense and finance. Such targets may have included academics, entrepreneurs and government policymakers.

Reportedly, their mission was close to being a success. FBI assistant director for counterintelligence C. Frank Figliuzzi reveals that “they were getting very close to penetrating U.S. policymaking circles,” through a friend of an unnamed member of President Obama’s Cabinet.

On July 9th 2010, the U.S. swapped the ten deep cover agents arrested by federal agents for four Russians imprisoned for spying for the West. The swap took place at a Vienna airport.

The footage of Chapman and her colleagues is below, and provides a fascinating insight into this shadowy world:

Anna Chapman Spy Footage Released By FBI [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

The man set to take the helm of MI6 in the UK in November is doing some rapid damage control after it was discovered that his wife had posted practically every detail of their lives for all to see on Facebook.

Lady Shelley Sawers, wife of Sir John Sawers, made available copious details of their liveshaunts and habits including the location of one of their homes, favorite vacation spots, and information about friends and family- including the whereabouts of their parents and children. Her privacy controls were set so loosely that anyone in the London network could freely access her page. On the day her husband’s new position was announced, she is said to have posted scores of pictures of the family on vacation holiday.

Charmingly, friends and family congratulated Lady Sawers and her husband on the appointment, referring to Sawers as “Uncle C”- his MI6 codename. Although the Daily Mail says all traces of her Facebook fail have since been removed from the internet, the internet has a pretty long memory. And understandably, officials have commented indicating that the breach “verges on the reckless.”

Edward Davy, the Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesman is quoted in the Daily Mail as saying:

‘The Prime Minister should immediately commission an internal inquiry as to whether this has breached the security of the incoming head of MI6 too seriously to allow him to take up the post.’

A MP is quoted in the article regarding the possible consequences of the security breach:

‘Sir John Sawers is in a very sensitive position and by revealing this sort of material his family have left him open to criticism and blackmail.

‘As a long-serving diplomat and ambassador, his whole family have been involved in his line of business for decades. I would have hoped they would have been much more sensitive to potential security compromises like this.’

Uh, perhaps… most of my friends have their profiles locked down tight because they don’t want to get blackmailed, too. They’re schoolteachers.

[Image: Daily Mail]

Whoops- Incoming MI6 chief’s wife spills details on Facebook is a post from: The Inquisitr