The US Army said Monday it has arrested a soldier in Iraq in connection to the leaking and internet distribution of a classified military video, DPA reported.
Specialist Bradley Manning, 22, was taken into custody for allegedly releasing classified material and was being held in Kuwait as the investigation into the leaked video continues, US Forces Iraq said.
"The Department of Defense takes the management of classified information very seriously, because it affects our national security, the lives of our soldiers, and our operations abroad," Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Mutter said in a statement from Baghdad.
Manning of Potomac, Maryland, was deployed in the Iraqi capital as a member of the 2nd Brigade 10th Mountain Division.
WikiLeaks, an advocacy website encouraging whistleblowers to provide information in return for anonymity, in April released the video, shot from a helicopter depicting a firefight in Baghdad. The US military assault left two Reuters employees dead, along with others.
Manning had reportedly boasted online to a former hacker that he was responsible for leaking the video and that he also has provided hundreds of thousands of State Department cables. The hacker then informed federal authorities, according to a report in Wired magazine.
State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said Monday that the department is looking into the reports of leaked cables.