'American spy working at GCHQ' stabbed in 'terror attack' as man, 29, arrested
A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and terrorism offences after a woman was stabbed near GCHQ's headquarters.
The woman sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital for treatment, where she remains in a stable condition.
Gloucestershire Police confirmed a 29-year-old suspect was arrested in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, following the incident outside a leisure centre at around 9.15am on March 9.
The man was arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism contrary to Section 41 of the Terrorism Act (2000), as well as on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act (2006).
The force said due to some specific details of this incident, Counter Terrorism Policing South East is leading the investigation, working alongside Counter Terrorism Policing South West and officers from Gloucestershire Constabulary.
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The victim is said to have staggered out of a car and gone to the centre for help (TomWren SWNS)The man, who remains in custody, had previously been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder immediately after the incident.
He was re-arrested on Friday under the Terrorism Act, and on Saturday a warrant of further detention was obtained, allowing officers until Thursday, March 16 to question him.
The Daily Mail reports the unnamed victim is a US spy on secondment to GCHQ, with the incident taking place just three miles from its headquarters.
She is said to have been sitting in a car in the leisure centre car park at the time and managed to stagger out of the vehicle for help.
GCHQ headquarters is a few miles from the scene (Getty Images)The nature of her work has not been revealed, but GCHQ - the UK's intelligence, security and cyber agency - has a strong relationship with its US equivalent, the National Security Agency.
Sources told the Mail the attack was being taken seriously by the government department.
A neighbour told the Mail: "They were either parked or had pulled into the car park when she was stabbed and then she managed to get out of the car and get to the leisure centre.
"There were two ambulances and then the police arrested the bloke in the car."
Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone of Gloucestershire Constabulary said: "I would like to reassure those living locally or visiting the county that we believe this was an isolated incident and we are not aware of any wider threat to members of the public. We are working closely with our partners in Counter Terrorism Policing.
"We appreciate that an incident of this nature may be concerning and we would encourage people to contact us via 101 with any additional information they may have about the incident."
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The Mirror has contacted GCHQ for comment.
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