Edward Snowden says U.S. Secret Service Wants To Kill him

Secret services fugitive Edward Snowden claimed on Sunday that US government officials 'want to kill me' in an interview with a German TV channel.

The intelligence leaker's Moscow lawyer had already voiced similar fears after controversial comments from unattributed sources.

Snowden - currently hiding from US justice in Russia, where he is believed to be under the protection of the The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) - said he has received threats on his life.

'These people, and they are government officials, have said they would love to put a bullet in my head or poison me when I come out of the supermarket, and then watch as I die in the shower,' he said.

The translated Snowden quotes were issued by German public television netowork ARD with the promise of further comments from the renegade intelligence contractor.

The interview was broadcast in Moscow in secret.

Snowden's concerns follow a BuzzFeed article entitled 'American Spies Want Edward Snowden Dead', which cited an alleged Pentagon official.

'I would love to put a bullet in his head,' said the source, who was not named.

A current analyst for the National Security Agency - where Snowden used to work - was quoted as saying he would not hesitate in murder Snowden.

'In a world where I would not be restricted from killing an American, I personally would go and kill him myself,' they said.