Snowden seeks extra Russian protection after U.S. threats

MOSCOW, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. secrets leaker Edward Snowden will ask Moscow for extra protection after a report U.S. civilian and military spies want him dead, his Russian lawyer said.

Two officials -- one from the Pentagon and the other a National Security Agency analyst -- were quoted by BuzzFeed as saying they wanted to kill Snowden personally.

"We are concerned with the situation around Edward. We see statements made by some U.S. officials containing potential and implicit threats to his life," Anatoly Kucherena told reporters in Moscow.

The Pentagon official, who was previously a U.S. Army Special Forces officer, was quoted in the BuzzFeed article Thursday as saying, "I would love to put a bullet in his head."

"I do not take pleasure in taking another human being's life, having to do it in uniform, but he is single-handedly the greatest traitor in American history," the official was quoted as saying.

The article, titled "America's Spies Want Edward Snowden Dead," said U.S. intelligence operators bristle at the thought of Snowden.

"In a world where I would not be restricted from killing an American, I personally would go and kill him myself," an NSA analyst told the website.

"A lot of people share this sentiment," the analyst said.

"Most everyone I talk to says he needs to be tried and hung -- forget the trial and just hang him," a U.S. defense contractor said.

An Army intelligence officer was quoted by BuzzFeed as describing how Snowden could be killed swiftly yet subtly.

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Snowden seeks extra Russian protection after U.S. threats