(CORRECTED COPY) QUIET MORNING FOLLOWS SIGNIFICANT VIOLENCE;

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000574 SIPDIS SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (CLASSIFICATION TO SECRET) E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/23/2016 TAGS: PGOV PTER PNAT PREL IZ SUBJECT: (CORRECTED COPY) QUIET MORNING FOLLOWS SIGNIFICANT VIOLENCE; SECTARIAN TIMBER REMAINS DRY REF: BAGHDAD 563 BAGHDAD 00000574 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Although it appears there were more incidents on Wednesday after the Samarra mosque bombing than we reported (ref),there appear so far to be fewer incidents of sectarian violence on Thursday. Baghdad Deputy Mayor al-Bahrani told Poloff February 23 that approximately 30 Sunni mosques had been attacked on February 22; 105 people were killed and 220 injured in violence resulting from the Samarra mosque explosion. Press reports indicate an even higher level of violence, which we cannot confirm. The Ministers of Interior and Defense declared a state of alert, recalling all army and police forces from leave. Local media is reporting a heavy security presence on the streets. President Talabani invited most of the country's political leadership to a luncheon discussion of the political situation. However, several key Sunni leaders and SCIRI leader Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim stayed away. END SUMMARY. -------------- Differing Reports on Baghdad Violence -------------- ¶2. (C) Reftel reported that we could confirm attacks on only three mosques (two in Basra). Deputy Mayor of Baghdad Hussain Bahrani told Poloff February 23 that approximately 30 Sunni mosques in Baghdad were attacked during the period between the Samarra explosion and the morning of February 23. The Deputy Mayor added that casualties included 105 killed (including three Sunni imams) and 220 injured. He said that 75 to 80 percent of the casualties were Sunnis injured during the attacks on the mosque. He said the attacks had occurred primarily in the Rusafa and Adhamiya districts. However, the Deputy Mayor did not pass on reports of new violence the morning of February 23. In contrast to February 22, our contacts among the Sunni Arab community are not calling with frantic new reports of attacks. ¶3. (S) U.S. military as of 1330 hrs local time had received reports that 25-30 Baghdad mosques had been attacked during the period between the Samarra bombing and the early morning hours of February 23. The imams of mosques in Rashidi and Sabbar mosques were murdered. There are also reports of two attacks on Basra-area Sunni mosques February 22. ¶4. (U) Some press accounts suggested a higher level of violence on February 22. One news agency reported that 53 bodies were found blindfolded and bound, and quoted an Iraqi police captain who claims that the dead are Sunnis who were dragged from mosques and executed. Media reports noted between 50 and 80 overnight attacks on Sunni mosques. ¶5. (C) Also in contrast to the previous 24 hours, Embassy local staff and Iraqi contacts report that the streets of Baghdad remained relatively calm the morning of February 23. However, a U.S. NGO representative who was in touch with his local staff suggested that this was because of a high militia presence in many areas. Consistent with this view, one FSN who lives in Baghdad's Karradah district reported that as of 1130 hours, Al-Sadr,s militia has begun to roam the streets and is warning people to stay inside. ¶6. (C) A close associate of Interior Minister Bayan Jabr told Emboff February 23 that he expected violent demonstrations and attacks targeting both Sunni and Shia sites to continue in Baghdad, Samarra and other cities. He warned that attacks would undermine already fragile relations between Iraqi Sunnis and Shia and alleged that foreign Al-Qaida elements had played a role in the Samarra explosion. However, he said that the MOI had no evidence proving such involvement. Personnel at the MOI's National Joint Operations Center also reported that Iraqi Security Forces had found the corpses of at least 47 people killed in Nahrawan over the past 24 hours. -------------- Elsewhere in Iraq -------------- ¶7. (C) According to REO Basrah, twelve prisoners (five Iraqis, two Egyptians, two Tunisian, one Saudi, one Libyan and one Turk) were removed from a prison by ten armed men claiming to be from MOI intelligence at 2000 hrs February 22. Iraqi police confirmed that they later found the bodies of eleven of the men as well as the twelfth, who was injured. Al-Arabiya reported that three of its journalists were killed in Samarra after being abducted by an armed group. BAGHDAD 00000574 002.2 OF 002 ¶8. (C) As of mid-day, reportedly peaceful demonstrations were underway to denounce the Sammara attack in Baghdad, Kirkuk, Tell Afar, Al Hilla, and Nasiriyah. Reportedly, the initial size of the demonstrations numbered a few hundred each. (Comment: If true, this would mean most demonstrations on February 23 were smaller than those of February 22. End Comment.) -------------- Leadership Efforts -------------- ¶9. (C) Council of Ministers Secretary-General Emad Dhia told Political Counselor February 23 that Jafari had argued vehemently into the night February 22 with Ayatollah Yaqubi, the spiritual leader of the Fadillah Party, persuading him to rescind an earlier statement urging the faithful to go to Samarra to protect the mosque. Iraqi security forces surrounded Samarra and have set up checkpoints to regulate traffic into the city, according to media reports. ¶10. (C) President Talabani invited most of the country's political leadership to a February 23 luncheon discussion of the political situation. Initial reports are that several key Sunni Arab invitees declined to attend including Adnan al-Dulaymi, Saleh Mutlak, Tariq al-Hashimi and Khalaf al-Alayan. Tawafuq members Ala Makki and Hassan al-Bazaz told Poloff that Adnan Dulaymi, usually a fiery speaker for the Sunni Arabs, wanted to attend the luncheon but al-Alayan and al-Hashimi declined to attend. Our sources said the Sunni coalition's leadership planned to make a public announcement during the afternoon. We also understand that SCIRI leader Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim was absent from the Talabani lunch as well. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶11. (C) There is violence nightly in Baghdad, but the report of 50 - 105 killed would be markedly higher than normal. The demonstrations so far appear smaller on February 23, and we are getting far fewer reports so far of attacks on mosques. The government reportedly will have a more restictive curfew in effect in Baghdad on the night of February 23. We are not out of the woods. Iraq's sectarian tinder remains dry, as most vividly demonstrated by the refusal of Sunni Arab leaders to attend a unity luncheon hosted by the Kurdish president of Iraq. KHALILZAD