White House Disproves Reports of Halted US-German Cooperation in Iraq

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The media reports about the suspension of the intelligence cooperation between Washington and Berlin in Iraq are incorrect, the White House representative told Sputnik on Thursday.

"These reports are not accurate," the representative said.

The media reported Wednesday that US intelligence has suspended technical assistance to German troops in Iraq, fearing Berlin could use US technology to investigate Washington surveillance activities in Germany.

Since 2014, Berlin has been supporting Kurdish militias in northern Iraq against extremists in the region, including the Islamic State jihadist group, with German soldiers providing training for fighters. US surveillance technology is used to aid in German troop security.

The United States has not replied to a technical cooperation inquiry Berlin sent several weeks ago, German tabloid Bild reported, citing a US intelligence source.

US intelligence assets have expressed concern that their technology could fall into the hands of a Bundestag commission currently investigating US surveillance activity on German territory, the source told Bild.

An espionage scandal erupted in mid-April after German media uncovered internal intelligence investigation documents detailing the US use of German surveillance to spy on high-ranking European officials and corporations at the request of the US National Security Agency.