Shots Fired at Mullah Krekar's Residence, No Suspects in

C O N F I D E N T I A L OSLO 000059 SIPDIS AMEMBASSY ANKARA PASS TO AMCONSUL ADANA AMEMBASSY ASTANA PASS TO AMCONSUL ALMATY AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL LEIPZIG AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PASS TO AMEMBASSY PODGORICA AMEMBASSY HELSINKI PASS TO AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG AMEMBASSY ATHENS PASS TO AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/01 TAGS: PREL PTER PHUM IZ NO SUBJECT: Shots Fired at Mullah Krekar's Residence, No Suspects in Hand REF: 09 OSLO 773 CLASSIFIED BY: Aldo Sirotic, Acting Political Economic Counselor; REASON: 1.4(B) ¶1. (U) According to witnesses, two men allegedly attempted to break into Ansar al-Islam founder Mullah Krekar's (aka Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad) residence in Oslo early morning on January 22. Five shots were subsequently fired into the residence, lightly injuring Krekar's son-in-law in the arm. Krekar's son-in-law (reportedly 27 years old),and his wife, Krekar's daughter, were on a visit from London. At approximately the same time on January 22, a car was set on fire two blocks from Krekar's apartment, raising speculation that the two incidents may be related. Police have released minimal information; Police Director Grete Lien Metlid told NRK news January 27 that a hammer found near the crime-scene may have been used during the break-in attempt. ¶2. (C) Norwegian media has speculated that the January 17 visit to Oslo by a Patriot Union of Kurdistan (PUK) official could be related to the attempt on Krekar. In response, PUK representative Aras Mustafa told Norwegian left-leaning daily Verdens Gang (VG) January 28 that "it is impossible that the PUK could have done such a thing." MFA Iraq Desk Officer Anita Krokan showed PolOff an SMS she received January 22 from a Kurdistan Regional Government representative in Oslo, which said that the Norwegian government bore responsibility for investigating the crime and protecting Krekar. Krokan said that the message seemed a bit odd at the time. (Note: The message was sent before the news reports on potential PUK involvement in the crime. End Note.) Krekar's lawyer Brynjar Meling told Dagbladet that the attack appeared professional, raising his concern and fear that "Northern Iraqi" groups may be behind the attack. ¶3. (U) As of January 29, Mullah Krekar, his wife, his 15-year-old son, his daughter, and his wounded son-in-law were reportedly staying in an undisclosed location, protected by Norwegian police. The daughter told VG that things were going well with her husband and with the rest of the family, and that they feel safe. The article added that VG knows that the hidden location is a hotel in the Oslo area. ¶4. (SBU) Since the shooting, a group with now over 30,000 members called "Gi mannen som skjot etter Krekar et lastersikte sa han treffer neste gang," which roughly translates as "Give the man who tried to shoot Krekar a laser sight so that he hits him next time", has been established on Facebook, one of many groups either lobbying for Krekar's deportation from Norway or condoning the attack and/or future attacks on Mullah Krekar. Norwegian politician Abid Q. Raja (Venstre party) told daily newspaper Dagbladet January 27 that while he agreed that Mullah Krekar should be deported from Norway, he believed that when people joined groups espousing violence, they sink to the level of Mullah Krekar himself. "Such extreme Facebook pages show that many may have a little Krekar in themselves" he was quoted as saying. Another Facebook page, "Fa Mullah Krekar Ut Av landet!!!" which translates as "Get Mullah Krekar Out of the Country!!!" continues with almost 100,000 members. WHITE WHITE