Algeria has handed down death and prison sentences to seven defendants who stood accused of spying for Israel. The head of the alleged group was sentenced to death, whereas its remaining six members were given ten-year jail sentences.

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The group was headed by a Lebanese national with a dual Liberian citizenship, an Algerian news agency reported Tuesday, whose aim was said to be "crippling Algeria's security."

Seven alleged spies for Israel were sentenced to death and prison terms in the North African country (Photo: AP)

The remaining defendants held various African citizenships. In addition to the prison sentence they received, an Algerian criminal court ordered them to pay fines.

Algeria's Interior Minister Noureddine Bedoui said the exposure of the "international spy ring" working for Israel was clear proof that the Mossad and other foreign entities were trying to undermine the country's security and stability.

The interior minister's remarks came days after a Malaysia assassination in which a Palestinian was shot in the capital of Kuala Lumpur. Fadi Albatsh was a Hamas engineer, and the terror group—and Malaysia itself —claim he was assassinated by the Mossad.

Lebanese actor and director Ziad Itani was previously accused of spying for Israel (Photo: AFP)

Other Muslim countries frequently accuse either locals or foreigners of spying for Israel. The most notable example, perhaps, is Lebanon. This past November, the country was in turmoil over the Ziad Itani affair, when the actor-director was arrested on suspicion of colluding with Israel.

It was revealed last month, however, that a former senior Lebanese intelligence services official had a hacker fabricate the supposedly damning phone calls served up as evidence of Itani's treachery. The official was arrested , and Itani was consequently released