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British Army Man Says Arabs Tried to Buy Secrets About Israel

April 13, 1965
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A British Army Department staff sergeant who was arrested for selling top-secret documents to staff members of the Iraqi and Egyptian embassies here, admitted today that he was asked by the Arab officials to furnish them with documents relating to Israel. He said that, since there was little chance of obtaining material on Israel, he had furnished them with “other documents.”

Sgt. Percy Sidney Allen, 33, who said that he was desperate for money because his wife was hospitalized, confessed that he sold the top-secret documents, which were not identified, to Maj. Abdul Hafidh Khazal, assistant military attache at the Iraqi embassy, and Mustapha Hassan el Kabani, of the Egyptian embassy. He said that the Iraqi diplomat had asked him particularly for documents on Israel, but that he furnished the “other” material and had received 75 pounds sterling ($210).

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