LONDON — A senior US army soldier has been arrested in the United Kingdom on suspicion of helping Russian intelligence services, British police said Tuesday.
The 41-year-old man was arrested “as part of an investigation by counter-terrorism police” near the town of Gloucester, in the west of England, the London Metropolitan Police said in a statement, specifying that he was still in custody at a police station in the British capital.
He was arrested on suspicion of violations of Articles 1 and 3 of the National Security Law, the statement said. These relate to obtaining or disclosing protected information and assisting a foreign intelligence service.
“The country to which the allegations relate is Russia,” the statement added.
Three people familiar with the matter told NBC News the soldier was based at NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps headquarters at Imjin Barracks in suburban Gloucester.
A senior NATO military official also confirmed the soldier’s duty station.
“We can confirm that the American service member arrested by British police was assigned to NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC),” the official said in a statement.
FBI Director Kash Patel was quoted in the statement as saying the arrest was “significant” and “involves allegations of espionage, which is of grave concern to the United States and our allies.”
The FBI, he added, “has no tolerance for anyone who violates their oath to the United States and whose actions endanger our national security and that of our partners.”
Brig. Gen. Sean Stinchon, commanding general of the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command, was also quoted in the police statement.
“The alleged conduct of a senior military officer, entrusted with sensitive information, reminds us that insider threats are real and persistent,” he said.
“This case demonstrates the strength of our partnerships and the determination of the counterintelligence community,” he added. “I thank the UK and the FBI for their professionalism and teamwork throughout this investigation.”
Describing the allegations as “very serious”, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, Britain’s national co-ordinator for counter-terrorism policing, said “the investigation is ongoing”.
The investigation is not linked to any other ongoing counterterrorism operations, the statement said.
But the arrest comes at a time of heightened tensions around the threat of hostile states, with British security services saying Russia and Iran have both used proxies to commit crimes on British soil.
British officials have said Iran-linked proxies were behind a series of arsons and other attacks in Britain and other countries, many of which targeted the Jewish community and aimed to sow fear.
The United States has moved its military planes from an air base in the United Kingdom amid threats from Iran.
A US official confirmed to NBC News that several military planes left RAF Mildenhall as security there increased.
At least eight air refuelers and three Ospreys left the Suffolk base in eastern England on Monday, according to flight tracking data.
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