Israel launches new spy satelliteJerusalem, Sep 13 (AZINS) Israel's Defence Ministry announced on Tuesday that Israel successfully launched a military surveillance satellite.

The satellite Ofeq-11 lifted off in the afternoon from the Palmachim airbase south of Tel Aviv, Xinhua news agency reported.

The satellite was expected to begin transferring information some two hours after the launch, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Ofeq-11 would patrol the skies above the Middle East to collect intelligence on countries such as Iran, reported the Hebrew Ynet news site.

The launch came almost two weeks after Amos-6, Israel's largest ever communication satellite, exploded during launching at Cape Canaveral in Florida due to technical failure.