PRT NURISTAN: HEAD OF EASTERN DISTRICTS SECURITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001573 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR SCA/FO DAS GASTRIGHT, SCA/A STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG NSC FOR AHARRIMAN OSD FOR SHIVERS CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A. CG CJTF-82 POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PTER MARR AF SUBJECT: PRT NURISTAN: HEAD OF EASTERN DISTRICTS SECURITY COUNCIL MURDERED -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Fazel Ahad, head of the Eastern Districts Security Council, was murdered on April 30 in the vicinity of Kamdesh, in eastern Nuristan. The unknown culprits fled. Governor Tamim had appointed Fazel Ahad last November to head a 45-member council which formed the centerpiece of the Governor's strategy for bringing security and development to Nuristan's two districts which adjoin Pakistan. This murder follows on another recent murder of Nimatullah, an employee of the Afghan Security Group, which protects Camp Keating, a Coalition base near Kamdesh. These murders in Kamdesh district point to the insurgent's stepped- up brutality in the face of increased government and Coalition activity in eastern Nuristan. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Fazel Ahad, head of the 45-person Eastern Districts Security Council (Shura) was murdered at approximately 1100, April 30, while traveling in a vehicle along the main valley road near Kamdesh in eastern Nuristan. The unknown culprits fled. Three others traveling with Fazel Ahad were not harmed. In a meeting on May 6 with POLOFF, Governor Tamim expressed deep sadness for the loss of Fazel Ahad, who he referred to as a close friend and great Afghan patriot. ¶3. (U) Fazel Ahad had headed a 45-member council appointed by Governor Tamim Nuristani in November ¶2006. The council formed the centerpiece of Tamin's initiative to mobilize community councils to assume responsibility for security on their lands. The security council agreed to visit communities in the two districts in order to deliver the message that Jihad is not now justified, that communities must take responsibility for their own security, and that villages will not receive development projects unless they bar anti-government groups from operating on their lands. ¶4. (U) Fazel Ahad hails from Nikmuk , Bargimatal District. He served as deputy to Mawlawi Afzal, also from Nikmuk, who headed the defunct Islamic State of Afghanistan, a mini-state operating in eastern Nuristan during the Soviet occupation and the Taliban era. Mawlawi Afzal and his movement had close links to the Lashkar-i Tayyba. With a strong Salafi orientation and ties to Saudi Arabia, Mawlawi Afzal arranged for 80 Nuristani youths to study at the University of Medina and also for Nuristanis to fight with the Lashkar-i Tayyba in Indian-occupied Kashmir. (Mawlawi Afzal who is now elderly and infirm recently returned to Nikmuk from his long-time residence in Peshawar, Pakistan. He reportedly returned home to die.) ¶5. (SBU) Fazel Ahad has maintained his allegiance to Mawlawi Afzal. He has also been vigorous in his role as the leader of the security council. He headed council delegations that visited communities and delivered the council's message. Governor Tamim and others describe the supporters of Mawlawi Afzal as loyal to the Afghan government unlike other Salafi movements in neighboring Kunar province who are opposed to the government. ¶6. (U) This incident follows a murder of Nimatullah in April at Mandagal village, Kamdesh district. He was an employee of the Afghan Security Group, which provides security and other services to Camp Keating, the Coalition base at Urmur, Kamdesh District. Local sources hold that he was killed because he worked with the Coalition. In retaliation, the following day KABUL 00001573 002 OF 002 Nimatullah's relatives ambushed and killed two Islamists from nearby Bar Mandagal, sparking a dispute that has yet to be settled. ¶7. (SBU) Comment: All reports suggest that Fazel Ahad had taken his security council leadership responsibilities seriously. His murder sets back Governor Tamim's efforts to improve security in the troubled eastern districts at a time when Coalition units are expanding their presence and development activities into Bargimatal district. Professional police chiefs have taken up their positions in both districts, and new Afghan National Auxiliary Police are being trained to supplement the limited police presence. It also shows the increased brutality of the insurgents as they attack not only the Coalition forces but also Afghans who support and work with the government and its allies. This escalation risks entangling insurgents in conflicts with kin and supporters of their victims. The retaliation taken by Nimatullah's family against local Islamists demonstrates typical reactions to such crimes. The insurgents may find little choice but to ratchet up their pressure since they have seen their local support ebb in the face of prospective development projects offered by the government and the Coalition. Some suspect the insurgents now in the region may be outsiders who care little about whom they antagonize. WOOD