Germany expels U.S. intelligence officer after spate of espionage investigations

BERLIN, July 10 (UPI) -- The German government announced Thursday that a U.S. intelligence officer from the American embassy in Berlin has been asked to leave the country in response to two cases of alleged spying by the U.S.

"The representative of the U.S. intelligence services at the embassy of the United States of America has been told to leave Germany," confirmed Steffen Seibert, spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Last week, the German federal prosecutor's office announced the arrest of an employee of the German intelligence agency, BND, for spying on behalf of the U.S. On Wednesday, the home and office of a defense ministry employee was searched in the course of an espionage investigation, with German media reporting the German solider was a "U.S. spy." The soldier has not yet been arrested.

The chairman of a German parliamentary committee that oversees the German secret service explained that officials decided to expel the American intelligence officer because of the recent spate of U.S. spying activities in Germany and because U.S. officials failed to provide sufficient explanations or cooperation.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier said of the BND officer's arrest: "If the allegations are true it would be a clear contradiction as to what I consider to be trusting co-operation between agencies and partners."