A senior Syrian intelligence officer under investigation for war crimes was spirited from France to Vienna by the Israeli secret service Mossad after it struck a clandestine deal with its Austrian counterpart, according to media reports. Leaked documents obtained by the Austrian daily <em>Kurier</em> suggest that Khaled Al Halabi was smuggled into Austria in a hire car after his asylum claim in France ran into trouble because of suspicions he was linked to the torture of protesters. Brig Gen Halabi was based in Raqqa from 2009 to 2013 and is accused of involvement in the torture and shooting of demonstrators. Civilian investigators say he is the most senior suspected war criminal in Europe whose unit was responsible for “abhorrent crimes”, including sexual offences. He claims to have fled to Europe via Turkey after Raqqa fell to rebel fighters in 2013, and denies any role in human rights abuses. Last year in a French television interview, he said: “In all my life, I never hurt anyone.” Documents uncovered by <em>Kurier</em> suggest that Operation White Milk, the plan to bring him to Austria, was conceived after a meeting in 2015 between senior officials from the country's main spy agency BVT and Mossad. The<em> Kurier</em> reported that the Israelis described Mr Halabi as clean and as someone who could have a role to play in the future of Syria. The operation to whisk Mr Halabi from France sparked a political furore in Austria after he was given fast-track asylum. He was also reportedly given a cover story that he left France by train because he felt threatened by Syrians in exile. The far-right party FPO demanded a full explanation from the government and claimed the state had acted “as a smuggler for a wanted war criminal”. The <em>Kurier</em> said it has thousands of emails and documents related to the case, which is currently being examined by the judiciary. The newspaper claims that he was given thousands of euros in public money. The documents suggest that, by 2016, the authorities were aware that Mr Halabi was wanted for alleged war crimes after a meeting with representatives of the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (Cija), an NGO that has collected thousands of documents from Syria to prosecute war criminals. The Cija unit said it amassed evidence including documents and statements from insiders who worked with Mr Halabi in Raqqa. The group was alerted in late 2015 and found out where he was in Vienna in early 2016 before alerting Austria’s Ministry of Justice. It said it provided further evidence to the authorities before Austrian authorities raided the home of Mr Halabi in 2018. He was not there but Austrians a month ago believed they knew where he was, according to Nerma Jelacic, a director of Cija. Cija has previously provided evidence for the trial in Koblenz, Germany, of former colonel Anwar Raslan, who is accused of involvement in the murders of 58 protesters and the torture of about 4,000 people in a Damascus detention centre in 2011. The controversy surrounding Mr Halabi follows a series of intelligence failures surrounding the terrorist murder of four people in Vienna this month. The killer was released early from a prison sentence for terrorism and the authorities failed to take action after being alerted to meetings he had with other extremists.