German Spies Kept Tabs on Euro Allies - Media

German spies targeted politicians in friendly European nations and inside Germany for surveillance on behalf of the US National Security Agency, a media report said Thursday.

The US spy agency sent Germany's foreign intelligence agency, the BND, huge numbers of computer addresses, mobile phone numbers and other identifying information used to target people's digital communications, The Local reported.

The German newspaper Die Zeit said in a report that the NSA asked for a total of 800,000 people to be targeted for surveillance.

The BND simply plugged the personal details into their own systems and carried out the intimate surveillance on behalf of their American allies.

BND officers had noticed several times since 2008 that the moves directly contradicted the rules on how the agency is supposed to work, and the co-operation agreement for the “War on Terror” Germany signed with the US in 2002.

The Americans reportedly asked for information on arms manufacturer EADS, the Eurocopter helicopter company and the French government.

It was only after leaks by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden began in summer 2013, revealing the extent of the surveillance by the American spies against the entire world's communications, that the BND began checking.

Politicians were among the people picked out for the illegal spying.

BND director Gerhard Schindler may be asked to retire, The Local report said.