TUNISIAN GOVERNMENT SHARES SOME FURTHER

S E C R E T TUNIS 000070 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS FOR NEA/FO - GRAY; NEA/MAG - HOPKINS AND HARRIS NSC FOR ABRAMS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/12/2017 TAGS: PREL PTER TS SUBJECT: TUNISIAN GOVERNMENT SHARES SOME FURTHER INFORMATION IN CONNECTION WITH RECENT "SALAFIST" THREAT REF: A. TUNIS 67 ¶B. TUNIS 54 ¶C. TUNIS 53 ¶D. TUNIS 44 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (S/NF) The GOT on January 12 passed to SIMO the names of US Embassy officers found on a piece of paper at one of the sites used by "Salafist" terror suspects (reftels). SIMO is reporting this information through other channels. ¶2. (S) While Post is pleased that the GOT has finally come forward with this information, which we have been seeking since FM Abdallah's January 5 briefing to Ambassador (Ref D), many details remain unclear. It will be important to keep the pressure on the GOT to provide additional, detailed information that will help us understand the nature of the threat and the extent to which it has been eradicated. We therefore suggest modifying the message to Ambassador Hachana recommended in Ref A. Specifically, we recommend that the NEA front office summon Hachana to: -- Congratulate GOT security services for taking down this group, and offer our condolences for the losses suffered. -- Express appreciation for the initial sharing of information about the threat, in addition to the specific information that was passed through liaison channels on January 12. -- Emphasize that we continue to seek additional, detailed information, and that the Embassy in Tunis will be following up with GOT counterparts. GODEC