U.S. Army soldier arrested in England, suspected of espionage linked to Russia

A member of the U.S. Army was arrested Tuesday in England on suspicion of espionage related to Russia, counterterrorism police said. The 41-year-old, who was not named, was arrested near Gloucester on suspicion of violating two sections of the National Security Act 2023 — for assisting a foreign intelligence service and obtaining or disclosing protected information. The Metropolitan Police said its counterterrorism forces worked closely with the FBI and U.S. military.

Also Tuesday, U.S. authorities charged three men in a suspected terrorist plot linked to Iran in September at a U.S.-run base in Britain, RAF Fairford, near Gloucester. FBI Director Kash Patel called the soldier’s arrest important in dealing with allegations of espionage that are of “utmost concern” for the U.S. and its allies. “This FBI has no tolerance for anyone who breaks their oath to the United States and whose actions endanger our national security and that of our partners," Patel said.

Searches were underway at two locations in Gloucestershire, a county about 90 miles west of London. The suspect was detained and in custody at a London police station. Brig. Gen. Sean Stinchon, the commanding general of U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command, said the person arrested is a “senior soldier” and that the alleged conduct “is a sobering reminder that insider threats are real and persistent.” Police said the arrest was not related to other counterterrorism investigations, indicating it wasn’t connected with the suspected terrorist plot at RAF Fairford.

In its announcement, U.S. authorities called the suspected plot a “campaign of terror” of nearly 20 attacks targeting Jewish communities in Europe and the U.S. and RAF Fairford. Charges against Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national; Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national; and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, an Iraqi national, were outlined in a superseding indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court. After that threat, the U.S. Air Force withdrew bombers that had been used to strike Iran during the Middle East conflict from RAF Fairford.

Last week a U.S. contractor pleaded guilty to passing top secret intelligence to Ethiopia for military operations targeting armed groups. Abraham Teklu Lemma, 54, of Silver Spring, Maryland, pleaded guilty Nov. 3 to conspiring to transmit national defense information to a foreign government. He worked as an information technology contractor at the State Department, Justice Department and National Reconnaissance Office, prosecutors said.