KURDISH REPS CLAIM AQI LINKS AT NEW IRAQI POLICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002897 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/07/2018 TAGS: PGOV PTER PINS PINR MOPS IZ SUBJECT: KURDISH REPS CLAIM AQI LINKS AT NEW IRAQI POLICE STATION IN JALOULA REF: A. BAGHDAD 002759 ¶B. BAGHDAD 2838 Classified By: Political Affairs Minister-Counselor Robert Ford for rea sons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) This is a PRT Diyala reporting cable. ¶2. (C/NF) Summary: Diyala Provincial Council (PC) Chairman Ibrahim Bajellan has alleged a newly set-up police force at Jaloula in the Khanaqin district has links to Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and threatens Kurdish and regional security. He charged that Hassan Abdullah Hussein Al-Kurawi, the newly-appointed commander of the Iraqi Police (IP) battalion in Jaloula, is a member of the Kurawi clan, which he said has known AQI ties. Citing the Kurawi clan's role in Saddam Hussein's Arabization program to dispossess Kurds, Bajellan predicted a Kurawi staffed IP battalion would both block the return of Kurdish internally displaced persons (IDPs) and actively push their further displacement. Two Kurdish PC members echoed similar views. End Summary. Charges New IP Station will be Anti-Kurdish -------------- ¶3. (C/NF) PRT Team Leader met with PC Chair Ibrahim Bajellan and Provincial Council (PC) members Amal Al-Zankani and Hussam Al-Jaaf - all members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) ) on September 1 and September 2 respectively. All raised Kurdish concerns that the GOI, through the actions of LtGen Ali Ghedan, commander of the Fifth Iraqi Army (IA),is setting up new police forces with an anti-Kurdish character in areas currently occupied by Kurds in northeast Diyala. Bajellan charged specifically that the recent creation of an IP station in Jaloula in the Khanaqin district is a violation of Article 140 since it was created without consultation with local government officials. He said that while local residents did not object to a new police station, they held the new battalion's composition should be representative of the area's Turcomen, Kurd, and Arab populations. Bajellan claimed that other local Sunni tribes shared his views. (Embassy Comment: Our reading of Article 140 does not require that provincial police consult with district officials about building sites per se. End Comment.) Charges of Kurawi Tribe Links to AQI -------------- ¶4. (C/NF) Bajellan said that Hassan Abdullah Hussein Al-Kurawi, the newly-appointed commander of the Iraqi Police (IP) battalion in Jaloula, belongs to the Kurawi tribe, which is alleged to have strong links to AQI. He claimed that Hassan's brothers, Najim (a suicide bomber) and Hotebah, died in attacks on Coalition Forces (CF) in 2007. (Note: CF have no evidence linking Hassan or his immediate family to AQI. End Note.) Bajellan also claimed the new IP battalion in Jaloula town is comprised primarily of members of the Kurawi tribe - Sunni tribesmen transplanted to the Hamrin area under Saddam Hussein's Arabization program. Bajellan alleged that Kurawi tribal leader Sheik Faisal had led AQI parades in 2006 and 2007 before CF began major operations to clear AQI out of Diyala. Bajellan, Al-Jaaf, and Al-Zankani all maintained that AQI continues to operate in Kurawi tribal areas around the Hamrin Mountains and nearby towns. (Note: CF report no significant AQI activity in this area since the Iraqi Army's arrival. End Note.) A Kurawi-Dominated Police Force Will Deter IDP Returns -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C/NF) Bajellan argued a Kurawi police chief would inevitably fill IP ranks in Jaloula with fellow Kurawi tribesmen. This apprehension is fueling concerns that the IP would not only block the return of Kurdish internally displaced persons (IDPs),but would actively push Kurds to leave. Al-Jaaf claimed that Kurawi members from southern Iraq had previously been given houses and farms confiscated from Kurds. Accordingly, he charged the Kurawi had a vested interest in preventing the return of Kurdish IDPs to the region. Kurdish PC Members: New IP Force will be Anti-Kurdish -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C/NF) In follow-on conversations with Amal Al-Zankani and Hussam Al-Jaaf on September 2, both agreed with Bajellan's report of Kurdish apprehensions that LtGen Ali Ghedan was forming anti-Kurdish ISF units in Diyala. Al-Jaaf and Al-Zankani noted that almost all of the commanding officers for the Iraqi Army (IA) and Iraqi Police (IP) units BAGHDAD 00002897 002 OF 002 currently in Diyala previously served in Saddam Hussein's security forces. Al-Jaaf added that many still retain the Arab nationalist orientation of Saddam's regime. Al-Jaaf and Al-Zankani stressed the need to retain Peshmerga in the area to help prevent "improper" action by the ISF. ¶6. (C/NF) Al-Zankani reported that the creation of the new police battalion had more than doubled the number of Kurawi in the Diyala police directorate from 143 to 350, including Kurawi officers in most of the top positions. She claimed that 72 members of the Kurawi tribe had changed their names or titles to disguise their tribal affiliation. She expressed concern that, "given time," Jaloula Police Chief Hassan Abdullah Hussein Al-Kurawi would replace non-Kurawi police officers with Kurawi tribal members and create another "Dirty Force" to control the social and political activities of the area's Arab, Turkish, Turcomen, and Kurdish population. (Note: "Dirty Force" was self selected nickname of the elite and secretive enforcer squad of Saddam's Republican Guard. End Note.) ¶7. (C/NF) Al-Zankani also mentioned allegations that in late August Hassan Al-Kurawi had personally intervened to allow a vehicle that turned out to contain a vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) to enter an area near a police recruiting station. The VBIED subsequently detonated, killing thirty prospective recruits according to Iraqi media reports. She stated that some people suspect Hassan was involved, and that this was an attempt to discourage non-Kurawi from joining the IP. Al-Zankani provided a list of police officers at the station so CF could check their names for possible AQI operatives. Comment -------------- ¶8. (C/NF) Comment: It is interesting that these Kurdish officials are throwing around such accusations against reconstituted police units even though we have no evidence against the individuals in question. These allegations by Diyala's Kurdish leadership's may reflect their increasing suspicion of GOI intentions toward Kurdish-occupied areas in the province. They remain insistent that the unresolved stand-off between IA and Peshmerga in Khanaqin is yet another indicator that the GOI wants to avoid implementation of Article 140 provisions in Diyala's disputed areas, and perhaps elsewhere in the north. (ref B). The presence of former Saddam Hussein officers commanding ISF units in Diyala also fuels Kurdish apprehensions. Even if they do not truly believe the allegations that they have passed to us, they may be making the accusations to justify Kurdish claims that local Kurdish populations in northern Diyala need to be protected by Kurdish forces. End Comment. CROCKER