PUK ASAYISH CLAIMS SECURITY DOMINANCE IN KIRKUK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000105

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

BAGHDAD FOR POL, POLMIL, NCT, ROL COORDINATOR, IRMO/IPCC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/29/2016
TAGS: PGOV KISL PINS PINR PREL PTER PNAT IZ IR SY TU
SUBJECT: PUK ASAYISH CLAIMS SECURITY DOMINANCE IN KIRKUK

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CLASSIFIED BY: Scott Dean, Regional Coordinator (Acting),Reo
Kirkuk, Department of State .
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. SUMMARY. The PUK chief of Asayish (internal security) in
Kirkuk complained that the MNF-I and Iraqi Army did not
recognize the Asayish as a formal security force below the
greenline and expressed frustration that the Asayish had to
obtain MNF-I permission prior to making an arrest. He claimed
Kirkuk minorities without militias relied on Asayish for
security. He argued that Kirkuk police employed terrorists, and
that investigating judges were releasing suspected criminals
without proper prosecution. Sadrist militia members are
organizing secretly in Kirkuk. END SUMMARY.

Asayish Dominant Security Force in Kirkuk
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2. IPAO on April 20 met Halkawt Abdullah Aziz, chief of PUK
Asayish (internal security) for Kirkuk province, to discuss
security issues in Kirkuk. Aziz complained that the MNF-I and
Iraqi Army did not recognize the Asayish as a formal security
force below the greenline and expressed frustration that the
Asayish had to obtain MNF-I permission prior to making an
arrest. He argued that most Kirkuk residents had more
confidence in the Asayish than the police to capture terrorists
and bring them to justice. For example, Aziz told us that
Kirkuk's deputy police chief called Aziz a day earlier,
requesting that the Asayish detain terrorists the police had
identified. The deputy police chief allegedly feared that if
the police captured the terrorists, the terrorists would be
released, due to ethnic sensitivities.


3. Aziz claimed Kirkuk minorities without militias relied on
Asayish for security. He said the Iraqi Turcoman Front (ITF)
wanted to create a security apparatus but were unable. Aziz
said MNF-I forces in the past had raided ITF offices and
confiscated weapons. He reported that some Turcoman forces were
working along side the Asayish to improve security. Aziz
claimed that Arabs and Turcoman entities sent his office letters
of appreciation following Asayish roundups of terrorist cells.

Kirkuk Police, Investigating Judges Corrupted
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4. Aziz contended that Kirkuk provincial police had terrorists
within its ranks. He said that recently a police leader in the
Za'ab area was charged with terrorism. Aziz alleged that the
Kirkuk police had yet to arrest one terrorist cell. He
described investigating judges as biased, stating that many were
connected to Ba'athists in Baghdad. He told us that Kirkuk
police authorities publicly reported that investigative judges
had released suspected criminals without proper prosecution.

Shia Arabs Encroaching on Kirkuk
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5. Aziz reported that Shia Arabs were migrating to Kirkuk,
although not in droves. He said most were staying with
relatives at this point and were not causing problems. Aziz
confirmed other reporting that Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) regiments
were moving to the Kirkuk area. He said the JAM was organizing
secretly in Kirkuk. Aziz said that if the Kurds had less of a

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handle on security and were not as close to the MNF-I, the JAM
would stir up lots of problems in Kirkuk.

Comment
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6. Aziz repeated many of the same themes discussed in a
previous meeting with the KDP Asayish chief in Kirkuk (REFTEL).
Aziz tried to drive home the message that the Asayish was the
only Iraqi security force in Kirkuk that was effective and that
we needed to recognize it as such. He shared Asayish success
stories in recently capturing terrorist cells in Kirkuk, Tikrit,
Tuz, and Alton Copri. Aziz, like other Kurdish contacts, hinted
at what other Kurds deem as a soft MNF-I approach to prosecuting
suspected criminals.

Biographic Note
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7. Aziz was born in 1959 and joined the PUK in 1982. He has
held various positions within the peshmerga. Aziz graduated in
1988 from Qalacholan College for Military Science. Prior to
OIF, Aziz fought with the peshmerga forces against Ansar
al-Islam near Iranian border of Iraqi Kurdistan and was wounded
five times during battle. During OIF, Aziz accompanied the

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first group of liberation forces into Kirkuk.
BIGUS