ANOTHER IRAQI SLAIN FOR SERVING HIS COUNTRY

S E C R E T BASRAH 000024 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/9/2017 TAGS: PREL PTER KCRM PHUM UK IZ SUBJECT: ANOTHER IRAQI SLAIN FOR SERVING HIS COUNTRY REF: BASRAH 023 CLASSIFIED BY: James Donegan, Acting Team Leader, Basrah PRT, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) CLASSIFIED BY: James Donegan, Acting Team Leader, Basrah PRT, Department of State. REASON: 1.4(b),(d). ¶1. (S/NOFORN) On the evening of April 7, Assaf Alnahi, a Basrah Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) locally engaged contractor (LES) was assassinated in central Basrah. In addition to his duties with the PRT, Assaf worked with the MND/SE legal office and was the judicial assistant to the Basrah Chief Justice. He was also a close contact of the U.S. Regional Embassy Office (REO) in Basrah and was scheduled to participate in the State Department's International Visitor Program this June. He leaves behind his wife and two children, one age five and one less than two months old. ¶2. (S/NOFORN) Reports indicate that Assaf was in a cafe when two males approached and shot him at least 10 times in the head and chest. The assailants fled immediately. What is clear is that Assaf was assassinated for his well-known and lengthy association with the Coalition, first with the British military and then with the PRT and the REO. He was a member of the PRT's Rule of Law (ROL) Sector Working Group and a key advisor on Coalition efforts to cleanse local police of militia and criminal elements. Despite threats to his life, which he confided last week were on the increase, he discounted PRT and REO concerns, insisting that his family, tribal, and professional connections were enough to protect him. ¶3. (S/NOFORN) Unfortunately, this type of killing happens all too often in Basrah and throughout Iraq, but the impact of Assaf's assassination cannot be overstated. The security situation in Basrah precludes almost all civilian Coalition personnel from traveling into the city. Therefore our ROL efforts depended (perhaps too heavily) on Assaf for information and contacts. The PRT has asked its remaining LES to keep a low profile for now. It remains to be seen whether our contacts will continue to risk their lives to meet PRT and REO officials at the Basrah Air Station and the Basrah Palace Compound, both of which are staked-out by the militants. Comment ¶4. (S/NOFORN) This has been a very bloody week for the Coalition in Basrah, including the loss of six British soldiers and one interpreter. In briefings on the transition to Provincial Iraqi Control, MND(SE) paints a picture of increasing "consent" for "freedom of movement" for Coalition forces in the region. However, recent events belie this assertion and raise serious questions about the reality on the ground for the average Basrah citizen. (See reftel.) ¶5. (S/NOFORN) Assaf Alnahi's loss has had a profound impact on many PRT, REO, and MND(SE) personnel who had developed a strong professional and personal relationship with this fine young Iraqi. Assaf shared our vision for a better Iraq and a better Basrah and gave his life for this cause. His assassination is meant to send a warning to those cooperating with the Coalition, particularly the middle class. It follows the March 30 assassination attempt of a close REO contact, Radio Sawa reporter Majid al-Braken, and the assassinations of a REO neighbor and REO laborer, which occurred last month. If this trend continues, it will be difficult for us to maintain local contacts. But for now, we mourn our friend. BONO