US man suspected of leaking secret info identified: Report

US newspaper the Washington Post on Wednesday reported that a man suspected of leaking classified US documents is a "young, charismatic gun enthusiast" who worked at an unnamed military base.

The publication cited fellow members of an online chat group on instant messaging platform Discord, with whom the man allegedly shared highly classified documents with.

Secret documents regularly posted on group chat

According to the report, group members said the man went by the name "OG" and would regularly post documents on the group. Among the documents posted were ones marked "NOFORN" which the Post reported  was not meant to be shared with foreign nationals. 

The publication's report was based on interviews with two members of the group who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"When rendering hundreds of classified files by hand proved too tiresome, he began posting hundreds of photos of documents themselves," the Post reported.

The documents reportedly include classified information about Ukraine's battle against invading Russian forces as well as secret assessments of US allies. Some of the most sensitive information is purportedly related to Ukraine's military capabilities and shortcomings.

The leak has led to the Justice Department opening a criminal investigation into the disclosure of the documents.

The details of the report could not be independently verified.

Discord said in a statement that it was cooperating with law enforcement.