Report: NSA spied on Al Jazeera

{mosads}The German paper reports that in 2006 the NSA’s Network Analysis Center accessed “Al Jazeera broadcasting internal communication,” obtaining and reading communications by “interesting targets” in what the agency listed as a “notable success.” 

The targets were believed by the NSA to be “high potential as sources of intelligence,” according to the document reviewed by Der Spiegel.

The information obtained by the surveillance activities was passed along to other NSA departments for analysis.

Al-Jazeera, a Qatar-based network that recently launched an American network, has previously broadcast messages from terrorist organizations, including messages from Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

The NSA also spied on Russian airline Aeroflot, another entity listed has having “high potential as [a source] of intelligence.” 

The agency’s surveillance practices have come under scrutiny following Snowden’s initial leak of documents, which tipped news outlets off to the practice. While U.S. officials have not denied the existence of the program, they’ve insisted the scope of the surveillance is limited and necessary for national security.