'German spies worked with Gaddafi'

Sun Sep 4, 2011

A former senior German official has said that his country's intelligence services had for several years cooperated with the spy network of fugitive Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

“It revolved mainly around information about the fight against terrorism and therefore Germany's security interests,” AFP quoted Bernd Schmidbauer, the former coordinator of the German secret services, as saying on Sunday.

He added that the alleged cooperation took place between 1991 and 1998.

“The Libyan security services had access to sources that the Germans did not have. Thanks to these sources, we were able to defend ourselves against terrorist threats to our country,” Schmidbauer said.

A spokesperson for the German administration declined to comment on the matter, saying, "As in all affairs relating to intelligence, we do not comment."

The development came shortly after documents from Gaddafi's intelligence archives revealed that British and US intelligence services had also continued cooperation with the Gaddafi regime's secret services.

The documents indicate that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had sent terrorism suspects to Libya for questioning, on at least eight separate occasions.

Other reports indicate that the UK had invited two of Gaddafi's sons to the SAS Special Forces headquarters in 2006, as former Prime Minister Tony Blair was attempting to rebuild ties with the Gaddafi regime.

A revolution against Gaddafi's 42-year rule began in Libya in mid-February. Libyan opposition fighters finally overran Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound on August 23, signaling that the battle against the fugitive ruler and forces loyal to him is drawing closer to a conclusion.

Libyans see the revolution as an opportunity for transition to a democratic state.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/197417.html.