VZCZCXRO6759
OO RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHBC #0027/01 0541648
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 231648Z FEB 06
FM REO BASRAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0257
INFO RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHBC/REO BASRAH 0275

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BASRAH 000027 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  2/23/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: SITUATION IN BASRAH CALMER, BUT STILL VOLATILE 
 
REF: A) BAGHDAD 574, B) BASRAH 26 
 
BASRAH 00000027  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: KEN GROSS, REGIONAL COORDINATOR, REO BASRAH, 
DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary:  Relative calm reigned in Basrah on February 
23 in marked contrast to February 22's violent demonstrations 
triggered by the destruction of the Golden Mosque in Samarra. 
Demonstrations of thousands of people continued to take place, 
but were largely peaceful and without significant event.  The 
Basrah Provincial Council (BPC) called a curfew for tonight. 
The most troubling incident over the past 24 hours in Basrah was 
the removal of twelve Sunni prisoners from the Al Mina jail 
during the night of February 22, and the extrajudicial killing 
of eleven of them.  Word on the streets of Basrah is that 
American and Jewish elements were behind the mosque attack, not 
Sunnis.  End Summary. 
 
Demonstrations Continue in Basrah 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Demonstrations involving thousands took place 
throughout Basrah on February 23, but were largely peaceful. 
Basrah's predominantly Shia population appeared to be following 
Ayatollah's Sistani's instructions to remain calm, though some 
demonstrators reportedly were armed with small arms, automatic 
weapons, and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs).  Several contacts 
reported that Jeyish Al Mahdi (JAM) militia members, many 
dressed in black with covered faces, were "ruling the streets" 
in Basrah on February 23.  MND-SE contacts reported that they 
are keeping a low profile and monitoring the situation, but are 
not attempting to get involved on the ground.  They are letting 
Iraqi security forces take the lead in handling the situation 
and responding to incidents.  Iraqi police, at least those 
acting in their official capacity and not as JAM members, 
reportedly were not present in Basrah in any appreciable 
numbers, and the Iraqi Army was not deployed in the city. 
 
Extrajudicial Killings of Sunni Prisoners 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) British civilian and military sources informed the 
Basrah Regional Embassy Office (REO) that at approximately 2000 
hours on February 22, twelve prisoners were removed from the Al 
Mina jail in Basrah by ten men with identification cards from 
the Ministry of Interior's Intelligence services.  (Note: The 
Head of the Al Mina prison is the brother-in-law of Basrah 
Governor Mohammed Waeli.  End Note.)  The twelve prisoners were 
all Sunni, described as "Wahabi," and included two Egyptians, 
two Tunisians, one Libyan, one Saudi, and one Turk, in addition 
to five Iraqis.  (See Ref A for additional discussion.)  The 
bodies of eleven prisoners were found within hours of their 
removal from the prison.  One Iraqi prisoner was wounded but 
survived, treated at a hospital and returned to jail. (Comment: 
Governor Mohammed is reported to be in hiding in his home in 
Basrah.  Attempts by the Regional Coordinator to contact him 
were unsuccessful - the Governor's cell phone was turned off, 
and his secretary said he was in Baghdad.  End Comment) 
 
REO's Condolence Messages 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  The REO contacted the BPC Chairman and council 
members to express condolences for the destruction of the 
Samarra mosque.  These expressions of sympathy were well 
received.  The Basrah Regional Coordinator (RC) contacted Aqeel 
Hussain Sajet, newly elected parliamentarian and political chief 
of the Office of the Martyr Sadr (OMS) party, expressing 
condolences and urging calm.  Aqeel expressed appreciation for 
the condolences and assured the RC that the demonstrations would 
remain peaceful and were simply a part of the "mourning 
process."  He agreed that the attack on the Samarra mosque was a 
terrorist event, and stated that the perpetrators must be caught 
and punished.  The Embassy Baghdad press releases and the White 
House statement expressing condolences for the Samarra mosque 
were disseminated to local press contacts. 
 
More on Yesterday's Attacks 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  The REO contacted a Sunni political party leader, 
Haji Khalaf Issa, to follow-up on yesterday's events (see Ref 
B).  Haji Khalaf said that the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) 
headquarters had been attacked with small arms and grenades, and 
that the first floor of the building had been severely burned. 
People inside the building survived by escaping to the roof and 
later evacuating the building.  No hostages were taken from the 
IIP building.  He said that despite repeated requests for 
assistance, his party received no response from the local 
 
BASRAH 00000027  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
government or from the Coalition.  He said that five people were 
injured in the attack and two guards died in the hospital after 
being wounded.  He reported that five Sunni mosques were damaged 
by fire or looted:  Al Salam, Ashra Al Mabshra, Al Talha, Al 
Fiyah, and Al Hamza.  Haji Khalaf put the blame for the attacks 
squarely on the shoulders of the local government for not taking 
any action. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Abdul Karim, an IIP party official, reported that two 
guards from the Sunni Religious Department in Basrah were 
arrested on the afternoon of February 22 as they distributed 
leaflets during a demonstration that expressed Sunni condolences 
for the Samarra mosque.  According to the contact, these two 
guards were killed during the night, but we have no additional 
information to confirm this assertion. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Anwar Al Jebor, Director of Al Iraqiya TV and Radio 
in Basrah, reported seeing Iraqi police attacking Sunni mosques 
on February 22.  She said that men wearing black clothes with 
their faces covered and carrying weapons were present in large 
numbers in the city, some of whom followed her.  She said that 
journalists in Basrah were afraid for their lives after hearing 
of the deaths of Al Arabiya journalists in Baghdad. 
 
Sentiments Turn Against Coalition 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Accusations that the Coalition, the United States, 
and "Jewish elements" were behind the bombing of the Samarra 
Mosque began circulating in Basrah, apparently spread by Al 
Jazeera and local news stations.  An REO local staff member 
reported that demonstrators from OMS and Jayish al Mahdi blamed 
the mosque attack on the presence of the Coalition. 
Demonstrators in Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar province reportedly blamed 
the bombing on U.S. forces and passed out pamphlets accusing the 
United States of the attack.  The Director of News Programming 
at Al Iraqiya in Basrah reported that anger against Sunnis 
appears to be dying down in Basrah, and is now being redirected 
against the Coalition.  People in Basrah are blaming U.S. forces 
for the attack on the mosque.  She said that the press release 
from Embassy Baghdad would be important to counter this 
perception, and she will work to disseminate it to the public. 
However, she cautioned that the Samarra mosque had historic 
value to the Shia and could never be replaced; U.S. officials 
should not expect that the offer to help rebuild the mosque 
would pacify Shias. 
 
Basrah Provincial Council Actions 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The BPC told the REO that the situation is under 
control.  The council has imposed a curfew on February 23-24 
from 2000 to 0600 in response to the violence.  The BPC stated 
that they stand with their Sunni brothers who have condemned the 
Samarra mosque bombing. 
 
¶10.  (C) Comment:  Although the heated reaction to the Samarra 
mosque attack of yesterday appears to have died down, large 
demonstrations likely will persist in Basrah for several more 
days.  In response to an offer by the RC to come to the BPC 
building to present a copy of the Ambassador's condolence 
message, the BPC Chairman said that he could not guarantee his 
safety and confided that BPC members would not come to the 
governorate building on February 24 because of their fears of 
possible violence.  The security forces' paucity of efforts to 
establish some form of control or presence in Basrah is 
disturbing.  The abdication of security responsibilities to the 
JAM has not resulted in widespread violence, but the potential 
remains.  End Comment. 
GROSS