UPDATE ON THE MURDER OF MOHAMMED JAMAL KHALIFA

S E C R E T ANTANANARIVO 000109 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/E MBEYZEROV DEPT FOR DS/IP/AF AKORT DEPT FOR DS/DSS/ITA DROTHSTEIN PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER D'ELIA PRETORIA FOR MBONNER E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/05/2017 TAGS: ASEC PTER MA SUBJECT: UPDATE ON THE MURDER OF MOHAMMED JAMAL KHALIFA REF: ANTANANARIVO 98 Classified By: Ambassador James D. McGee; Reasons 1.4 (C,D) ¶1. (U) Post is providing an update on the Mohammad Jamal Khalifa murder from a security and political standpoint. Below is an assessment by the Regional Security Officer (RSO) and the Political Office. ¶2. (S) On the security front, RSO continues to engage local Law Enforcement Officials concerning the investigation. Authorities have detained three persons of interest for questioning. There are multiple host government organizations actively conducting investigations from various angles, all with the intent to assist the United States Government. The Gendarmerie have provided identity documents belonging to KHALIFA and two of his body guards who are reportedly from Yemen. The body guards, personal information is as follows: ¶A. QAID ABDULAJAIL AHMED AL-SHARABI (WOUNDED IN THE ATTACK) DOB: 02/09/1945 POB: TAIZ YEM, YEMEN OCCUPATION: MECHANIC PASSPORT NO: 01798998 (YEMEN) ¶B. ABDULQADER SAIF MOHAMMED HAMID DOB: 01/01/1970 POB: TAIZ YEM, YEMEN OCCUPATION: LABORER PASSPORT NO: 01138121 (YEMEN) ¶3. (S) Documents belonging to KHALIFA included the following: ¶A. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia drivers license ¶B. Work Permit issued by the Department of Employment (Saudi Arabia) ¶C. Non-Immigrant Visa issued by the Malagasy Consulate in Bangkok, Thailand on or about 01/10/2007. The visa was not affixed to a passport, but rather a single piece of paper. ¶4. (S) RSO has forwarded copies of all documentation to other Embassy agencies and will send same via classified channel to DS/DSS/ITA for dissemination. Fingerprints were unattainable due to the condition of the body. RSO will continue to provide information as it is developed. ¶5. (U) After learning of the murder from international news sources, Malagasy journalists rushed to report details of the crime and Khalifa,s alleged association with terror funding. Khalifa,s murder made front-page headlines for several days, with journalists speculating heavily whether the crime was politically motivated. Domestic and international media sources published the remarks of Malek Khalifa, Jamal,s brother, that Malagasy authorities &sold8 his brother to international intelligence services, although he insisted Jamal had no link to Osama Bin Laden apart from family ties. The media also speculated on the potential impact on Madagascar,s relationship with Saudi Arabia. Several newspapers lamented this assassination places Madagascar in the world of terrorism &whether we like it or not,8 and radio call-ins expressed the fear that Khalifa,s relationship with Bin Laden will somehow impact the security situation in Madagascar. The murder also renewed media coverage of the U.S. Embassy,s Reward for Justice Campaign for the capture of Fazul Abdullah (aka "Harum Fazul"). ¶6. (U) Following an autopsy, overseen by a diplomat from the Saudi Embassy in Tanzania and brother Malek Khalifa, Jamal Khalifa's body was repatriated to Medina, Saudi Arabia on a private plane chartered by his family. The Government of Madagascar (GOM) was represented at the airport by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the SIPDIS Director General of National Police, both of whom promise the GOM will accelerate the investigation and noted this crime appears to have no link to Khalifa's family ties to Bin Laden. Khalifa's remains were accompanied by the Saudi Charge from Tanzania and brother Malek. ¶7. (S) COMMENT: The GOM agencies appear to view this as an opportunity to gain favor with the U.S. in cooperating on Counter Terrorism issues. While their eagerness is commendable, they appear to be competing more than coordinating and the results to date are dissappointing. McGEE