ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON INDEPENDENT SHIA CLERIC

S E C R E T BASRAH 000065

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/30/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR PBTS PINS PREL PTER IR IZ
SUBJECT: ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON INDEPENDENT SHIA CLERIC

REF: BAGHDAD 002243

CLASSIFIED BY: Ramon Negron, Director, Regional Embassy Office
Basrah, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(c)




1. (C) Summary: Gunmen rumored to be connected to a Jaysh
al-Mahdi (JAM) Special Group attempted to assassinate
independent Shia cleric Sayid Aqiel Fadil Abbass Jamal al-Deen
on July 16. The attack is one of a series of recent
assassination attempts that underscore the fragile nature of
Basrah's security gains and the threat posed by militants
returning from Iran. End summary.


2. (C) Sayid Abdul Aaly al-Musawi, owner of the Al-Musawi
Hospital in Basrah and a close REO contact, telephoned the REO
on July 17 to report the attempted assassination of Sayid Aqiel
Fadil Abbass Jamal al-Deen. According to Musawi, a group of men
in an off-white sedan opened fire on Aqiel at about 0900 on July
16, as he was being chauffeured through the old quarter of
Basrah. Aqiel is a politically-independent, nationalist,
religious figure and Imam of a local mosque. He is also a
member of the Al-`Ikbareah school, a traditional religious
school headed by his uncle, Hadji Jamal al-Deen.


3. (C) REO poloff met with Deen's cousin and PC member Sayid
Bah'a Jamal al-Deen on July 20 to discuss the incident.
According to Bah'a, Aqiel was shot four times during the attack
but remains in stable condition. Bah'a complained that traffic
police at the intersection and soldiers in an army vehicle
parked at the nearby mosque did not react. He did praise the
14th Division (IA) Commander Abd al-Aziz, whom Bah'a claimed was
the only official following up on the incident.


4. (C) According to Musawi, the gunmen were rumored to be
members of a JAM Special Group recently returned from Iran.
Bah'a claimed that, according to his sources, between July 17
and 19 there had been 11 assassination attempts in Basrah.
"Clearly," he said, "they're attempting to undermine the success
of Charge of the Knights."


5. (S) Comment: Members of the Al-`Ikbareah school, Aqiel and
Bah'a are both independent and openly anti-Iranian. While the
gunmen's identity as members of a JAM Special Group cannot be
confirmed, the possibility is consistent with intelligence
reports and recent statements made by REO contacts, including
Basrah Operations Commander LTG Mohammed Jawad Hewidi, that JAM
members are returning to Basrah from Iran and planning new
operations (reftel). The attack on Aqiel follows the
assassination of ISCI representative Abu Ali al-Daraji by
unknown gunmen earlier this month. Reporting suggests the
representative was killed for criticizing the Sadr Trend. We
are concerned that Sayid Bah'a Jamal al-Deen may be targeted in
the future. The attacks underscore the fragile nature of
Basrah's security gains and the threat posed by militants
returning from Iran. End comment.


SIGNATURE

NEGRON