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... A former FBI informant at the center of a long-running court battle over a counterterrorism operation that targeted southern California mosques sparred with a judge Tuesday during a hearing called to investigate his explosive claims.

The ex-operative, Craig Monteilh, took the witness stand after U.S. District Judge David Carter demanded Monteilh's presence to affirm an array of allegations he's made in emails claiming wrongdoing by both his FBI handlers and American Civil Liberties Union attorneys who sued over "Operation Flex" a decade and a half ago.

Monteilh's public disclosures about the FBI's undercover activities in mosques caused a furor, generating widespread media attention and prompting the lawsuit accusing the law enforcement agency of illegally recording inside houses of worship and infringing on Muslims' religious practice. However, in recent months, Monteilh has walked back much of the information he provided to the ACLU as it launched its case in 2011. ...