Berlin, February 5 (RHC)-- German media outlets say that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) spied on former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder over his opposition to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

In 2002, Chancellor Angela Merkel's predecessor was placed on the NSA's list of the people who were under surveillance, Munich's daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and public broadcaster NDR reported on Tuesday, based on the leaks by Edward Snowden, the NSA former contractor.

In 2002, Schroeder's Social Democratic party stated at the beginning of its election campaign that Germany would not provide troops or money for an invasion of Iraq. Schroeder was not surprised by the report, Sueddeutsche Zeitung wrote on its website.

Global outrage over U.S. government's surveillance spiked after a confidential memo obtained from Snowden revealed that the NSA had illegally eavesdropped on the phone conversations of dozens of world leaders, including Merkel.

The German weekly Der Spiegel said in a report published in October last year that the magazine had seen secret documents from the NSA, which show that Merkel's mobile phone had been listed by the agency's Special Collection Service since 2002. The report added that Merkel's mobile number was still on a surveillance list in June 2013.