Jordanian authorities confirmed on Sunday the arrest of a group of Syrian army defectors on suspicion of spying for the regime of President Bashar Assad.

Police arrested 10 alleged army defectors last week in the city of Mafraq, some 60 kilometers north of the capital Amman, the Public Security Department said.

The group, who had been residing in a camp for army defectors since their arrival in Jordan earlier this month, were transferred to the Mafraq detention facility where they are being questioned, claimed the Jordanian Public Security Department.

"We don´t know if they are officers, soldiers or spies. So security services took the extra precaution in order to determine their true identity and intentions," said Public Security Department spokesman Mohammed Khatib.

It was not the first time Jordanian authorities detained army defectors on suspicion of spying for the Syrian regime, a security source said, adding that some 100 alleged defectors have been deported to Syria since the unrest started a year ago.

Concerns over attempts by Syrian agents posing as refugees to enter Jordan, which is home to some 100,000 Syrian refugees, have prompted authorities to relocate 400 known defectors to a guarded military barracks outside Mafraq earlier this month. (© Copyright 2012 Ha´aretz 03/26/12)