Among the vast amount of info leaked by Edward Snowden are details of a top-secret British spy base placed in the Middle East. The purported aim of this base is to tap into undersea communications cables and eavesdrop on the region's internet.

The clandestine base is used to hoover up huge amounts of data, such as emails, telephone calls and web traffic, according to the Independent.

The Guardian stopped short of reporting the location of the covert base.

An obvious location for spying on submarine cables leading to Middle Eastern nations such as Syria, Lebanon and Israel would be Cyprus, which is an undersea cable nexus for the region.