DISCUSSION WITH EGYPTAIR REGARDING FOREIGN FIGHTERS

S E C R E T CAIRO 001486 SIPDIS EB FOR JOHN EMERY; NEA FOR NEWHOUSE; ATHENS FOR TSA FURLONG E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2018 TAGS: PTER EAIR ECON EG SUBJECT: DISCUSSION WITH EGYPTAIR REGARDING FOREIGN FIGHTERS REF: A. STATE 37910 ¶B. CAIRO 500 ¶C. CAIRO 808 Classified By: Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs Catherine H ill-Herndon for 1.4 reasons (b),(d) and (e). ¶1. (C) We raised the issue of foreign fighters transiting Damascus via commercial aircraft on their way to Iraq (ref A) with Essam Gamal El Din, Vice President for Security at EgyptAir and with Maged Hagag, Security Manager for the airline. El Din and Hagag said that Egyptian security services had provided a similar briefing to them on the issue of foreign fighters transiting Syria. They stated that EgyptAir's security division collaborated closely with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and referred to updated watchlists and no-fly lists from TSA and other international partners on a daily basis. Hagag said that EgyptAir was prepared to accept any additional information from the U.S. about suspected foreign fighters traveling to Syria. El Din noted that the Egyptian-Syrian relationship had become more difficult of late, which in turn had a negative impact on EgyptAir's relationship with airport and civil aviation officials in Damascus. However, he promised to raise the issue of stemming foreign fighters in his next meeting with Syrian aviation officials. ¶2. (S) Since S/CT Ambassador Dailey's visit to Egypt in February for discussions with Minister of Interior Habib al Adly and other GOE officials on foreign fighters (refs B and C),we have regularly followed-up with Ashraf Mohsen, the MFA,s Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for Counter-Terrorism. Mohsen assures us that Egypt is taking appropriate steps to address the issue, including raising it with Syria when appropriate. SCOBEY