BERLIN (AP) — Prosecutors in Germany say an army employee has been detained on suspicion of spying for the Iranian intelligence service.

The federal prosecutor's office said in a statement that the 50-year-old German-Afghan dual citizen, whose name was only given as Abdul Hamid S. in line with German privacy rules, was detained Tuesday in the Rhineland in western Germany.

He worked as a translator for the German army and is accused of having passed on information to the Iranian intelligence service.

The German defense ministry confirmed the allegations but declined to give any further details.

German news site Spiegel Online reported that the suspect spied on the army for years and had access to highly classified material including the German troops' mission in Afghanistan.