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