Raided NATO Counterintelligence Center in Poland Unaccredited

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has not yet accredited Warsaw’s Counterintelligence Center of Excellence (COE) law enforcement officials raided overnight, an alliance's press office representative told local media Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Defense ministry officials accompanied by military police conducted the raid in the Polish capital after midnight local time. The ministry said in a Friday press release Col. Roberta Bala has been appointed acting head of the COE.

"The Counterintelligence Center of Excellence is not yet accredited in NATO," Dylan White wrote in a brief statement published by the Gazeta Wybrcza daily, reiterating previous assertions that the raid was a matter of national concern.

COEs are described as international military organizations that train "leaders and specialist" from NATO member and partner countries, and are coordinated by the US-based Allied Command Transformation. Part of a wider framework supporting NATO Command Arrangements, the COEs are described as being outside the NATO command structure.

The Polish center has been staffed and funded in conjunction with Slovakia since 2014, tasked with coordinating and collecting intelligence on risks associated with the Ukrainian conflict and international terrorism.