Germany arrests suspected U.S. spy

BERLIN, July 4 (UPI) -- An employee of BND, Germany's intelligence agency, was arrested on suspicion of spying for the United States, the German federal prosecutor's office confirmed. The suspect was identified by German media only as male and age 31, and was arrested on suspicion he attempted to obtain details regarding a German parliamentary committee investigating alleged U.S. espionage in Germany. A report in German news magazine Der Spiegel claimed the suspect provided secret documents to a U.S. contact.

In a 2013 scandal that caused friction between the two countries, the U.S. National Security Agency was accused of tapping telephones, including that of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel was told of the arrest, her spokesman said.