This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L HILLAH 000384 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  12/28/2015 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL IZ
SUBJECT: SISTANI-AFFILIATED CLERIC ASSASSINATED IN NAJAF; IRAQI 
POLICE RAID OFFICE OF SADRIST SHAYKH 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: ALFRED FONTENEAU, REGIONAL COORDINATOR, REO, 
AL-HILLAH, STATE. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Unidentified gunmen assassinated Sayyid Fattah 
Al-Thabhawi, a mid-level Shi'a cleric affiliated with Grand 
Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, on December 26. The cleric, who also 
was aligned with the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution 
in Iraq (SCIRI), was shot outside his home in the Al-Makroma 
quarter of Najaf city as he left for his office at a 
Sistani-funded Shi'a theological research and publishing house. 
Iraqi Police (IP) are reportedly investigating the involvement 
in the killing of both Sunni insurgents from outside Najaf and a 
Najaf-based ayatollah affiliated with Moqtada Al-Sadr. End 
summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Gunmen in a white KIA sport utility vehicle ambushed 
Al-Thabhawi outside his home in the Al-Makroma district of Najaf 
shortly after 8 a.m. as he left for work on December 26, IP and 
SCIRI sources report. The cleric was taken by ambulance to 
Al-Hakim Hospital, where he died from his injuries at about 8:30 
p.m. IP sources and local contacts report that the IP 
investigation is focused on both Sunni insurgents from outside 
the province and a local Sadr-affiliated cleric, Ayatollah Ahmed 
Al-Hassani Al-Baghdadi, whose office and home were raided by the 
IP on December 26 and 27. 
 
¶3. (C) The killing of Thabhawi is the most recent of several 
attempts on the lives of prominent Shi'a clerics. In June 2005, 
an unidentified sniper in Najaf attempted to assassinate Shaykh 
Khalid Al-Numani, a SCIRI-affiliated cleric who currently serves 
as the Deputy Provincial Council Chairman. In September 2005, 
gunmen assassinated Ayatollah Shaykh Mahdi Al-Attar, a 
high-ranking Dawa Party official, in Latifiyah, Babil Province, 
as he drove from Baghdad to his home in Najaf. 
 
¶4. (C) Sayyid Al-Thabhawi was at the time of his death working 
in the Al-Mahdi Establishment for Islamic Science and Research, 
a Shi'a theological research center and publishing house funded 
by Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani. Al-Thabhawi joined the 
center, reportedly at the behest of Sistani, about six months 
ago after working in the Friday prayer office of Najaf SCIRI 
Head Shaykh Sadr Al-Deen Al-Qubanji. Al-Thabhawi, who was also 
affiliated with SCIRI, had reportedly been sent by Sistani to 
Baghdad in January 2005 to campaign for the Shi'a electoral list 
(at the time, ballot number 169, or the "Candle List") and had 
campaigned for the United Iraqi alliance (UIA, ballot number 
555) in the December 15 election. Contacts indicate that 
Al-Thabhawi was a moderate in favor of integrating Sunnis and 
ex-Baathists into the political process. Others report that 
Al-Thabhawi had given the IP tips enabling them to capture 
wanted Najaf-based militants. 
 
¶5. (C) Shortly after Al-Thabhawi's death, the IP raided the 
Najaf home of Ayatollah Ahmed Al-Hassani Al-Baghdadi, a 
Sadr-affiliated extremist cleric who supports armed resistance 
to Coalition Forces and has issued fatwas condemning the recent 
election and declaring those who die fighting the Coalition 
Forces martyrs. Contacts report that Al-Baghdadi was opposed to 
the political process in general, having declared the current 
Iraqi Government an agent of the Coalition Forces, and to the 
United Iraqi Alliance (UIA, ballot number 555) in particular. 
 
¶6. (C) The IP raided Al-Baghdadi's home and office a second 
time, on December 27. The cleric told the local media then that 
the raids were retaliation for his anti-Coalition stance and 
because he was suspected in Al-Thabhawi's death. IP sources 
confirmed both raids, and Al-Baghdadi's suspected involvement in 
Al-Thabhawi's killing as the reason for them. On December 28, 
about 80 Sadrists gathered outside Al-Baghdadi's office in 
Najaf's Old City to show their support and to condemn the raids. 
The same day, Moqtada Al-Sadr visited Al-Baghdadi in his home, 
declaring the raids an insult and promising to speak out about 
them during Friday prayers on December 30. 
 
FONTENEAU