MAJED AL-SARI ON ASSASINATIONS AND IRANIAN INFLUENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BASRAH 000164 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM IZ SUBJECT: MAJED AL-SARI ON ASSASINATIONS AND IRANIAN INFLUENCE CLASSIFIED BY: Ken Gross, Regional Coordinator, REO Basrah, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (b) 1) (C) On October 19, the RC and poloff met with Majed al-Sari, intelligence advisor to the Ministry of Defense and close REO contact. Al-Sari expressed his condolences for the recent death of a REO State Department contractor and told the RC that two of his men had recently been assassinated. One of them was an intelligence officer working on Iranian issues and the other was a media supervisor. Both men were tortured before being killed. Al-Sari believes that two different groups are responsible for the murders and said he has information but no concrete evidence - he was not able to provide more specific information, though he alluded to Iran being ultimately responsible for the murder of his intelligence officer. He said that the spate of assassinations has caused four of his subordinates to quit. 2) (C) Al-Sari said that he personally is under threat, and if the Ministry were to fire him he would leave Iraq since he would not have the resources or protection provided by his office. Al-Sari also told the RC about a new group in Basrah sponsored by Iranian intelligence known as the "Fajar Operation". He is not sure about its specific purpose. However, he said that the operation has a three-stage plan. The first stage is to attack Coalition Forces and foreign companies working in Basrah, stage two is to assassinate the remaining Sunnis in Basrah and the final stage of the plan is to assassinate any Shia working with Coalition Forces or who is perceived as a threat. Al-Sari described the operation as being carried out by multiple groups with anywhere from 10-50 men. He did not have or could not provide further information. 3) Comment: Al-Sari is a frequent REO contact and was frank in his discussion of the current situation. He believes that security in Basrah will continue to deteriorate with increased Shia versus Shia fighting likely as different groups vie for control of the province. Al-Sari was in a combative mood, and he believes he is threatened on all sides. He is an anomaly in Basrah, liberal in his behavior and in his drinking habits. When he arrived in the RC's office and noticed that no soft drinks were set out because it was Ramadan, he said that he makes it a point to drink Jim Beam every day during the holy month. His grim outlook on the future of Basrah probably is influenced by the threats against him and the murder of two of his officers. End Comment. GROSS