VZCZCXRO0395
OO RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHPW RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #1573/01 1291757
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 091757Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7954
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 4045
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 3620

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001573 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/FO DAS GASTRIGHT, SCA/A 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN 
OSD FOR SHIVERS 
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A. CG CJTF-82 POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PTER MARR AF
SUBJECT: PRT NURISTAN: HEAD OF EASTERN DISTRICTS SECURITY 
COUNCIL MURDERED 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) Fazel Ahad, head of the Eastern Districts 
Security Council, was murdered on April 30 in the 
vicinity of Kamdesh, in eastern Nuristan. The unknown 
culprits fled. Governor Tamim had appointed Fazel Ahad 
last November to head a 45-member council which formed 
the centerpiece of the Governor's strategy for 
bringing security and development to Nuristan's two 
districts which adjoin Pakistan. This murder follows 
on another recent murder of Nimatullah, an employee of 
the Afghan Security Group, which protects Camp 
Keating, a Coalition base near Kamdesh. These murders 
in Kamdesh district point to the insurgent's stepped- 
up brutality in the face of increased government and 
Coalition activity in eastern Nuristan. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Fazel Ahad, head of the 45-person Eastern 
Districts Security Council (Shura) was murdered at 
approximately 1100, April 30, while traveling in a 
vehicle along the main valley road near Kamdesh in 
eastern Nuristan. The unknown culprits fled. Three 
others traveling with Fazel Ahad were not harmed. In a 
meeting on May 6 with POLOFF, Governor Tamim expressed 
deep sadness for the loss of Fazel Ahad, who he 
referred to as a close friend and great Afghan 
patriot. 
 
¶3. (U) Fazel Ahad had headed a 45-member council 
appointed by Governor Tamim Nuristani in November 
¶2006. The council formed the centerpiece of Tamin's 
initiative to mobilize community councils to assume 
responsibility for security on their lands.  The 
security council agreed to visit communities in the 
two districts in order to deliver the message that 
Jihad is not now justified, that communities must take 
responsibility for their own security, and that 
villages will not receive development projects unless 
they bar anti-government groups from operating on 
their lands. 
 
¶4. (U) Fazel Ahad hails from Nikmuk , Bargimatal 
District. He served as deputy to Mawlawi Afzal, also 
from Nikmuk, who headed the defunct Islamic State of 
Afghanistan, a mini-state operating in eastern 
Nuristan during the Soviet occupation and the Taliban 
era. Mawlawi Afzal and his movement had close links to 
the Lashkar-i Tayyba. With a strong Salafi orientation 
and ties to Saudi Arabia, Mawlawi Afzal arranged for 
80 Nuristani youths to study at the University of 
Medina and also for Nuristanis to fight with the 
Lashkar-i Tayyba in Indian-occupied Kashmir. (Mawlawi 
Afzal who is now elderly and infirm recently returned 
to Nikmuk from his long-time residence in Peshawar, 
Pakistan. He reportedly returned home to die.) 
 
¶5. (SBU) Fazel Ahad has maintained his allegiance to 
Mawlawi Afzal. He has also been vigorous in his role 
as the leader of the security council. He headed 
council delegations that visited communities and 
delivered the council's message. Governor Tamim and 
others describe the supporters of Mawlawi Afzal as 
loyal to the Afghan government unlike other Salafi 
movements in neighboring Kunar province who are 
opposed to the government. 
 
¶6. (U) This incident follows a murder of Nimatullah in 
April at Mandagal village, Kamdesh district. He was an 
employee of the Afghan Security Group, which provides 
security and other services to Camp Keating, the 
Coalition base at Urmur, Kamdesh District. Local 
sources hold that he was killed because he worked with 
the Coalition. In retaliation, the following day 
 
KABUL 00001573  002 OF 002 
 
 
Nimatullah's relatives ambushed and killed two 
Islamists from nearby Bar Mandagal, sparking a dispute 
that has yet to be settled. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: All reports suggest that Fazel Ahad 
had taken his security council leadership 
responsibilities seriously. His murder sets back 
Governor Tamim's efforts to improve security in the 
troubled eastern districts at a time when Coalition 
units are expanding their presence and development 
activities into Bargimatal district.  Professional 
police chiefs have taken up their positions in both 
districts, and new Afghan National Auxiliary Police 
are being trained to supplement the limited police 
presence. It also shows the increased brutality of the 
insurgents as they attack not only the Coalition 
forces but also Afghans who support and work with 
the government and its allies.  This escalation 
risks entangling insurgents in conflicts with kin and 
supporters of their victims. The retaliation taken by 
Nimatullah's family against local Islamists 
demonstrates typical reactions to such crimes. The 
insurgents may find little choice but to ratchet up 
their pressure since they have seen their local 
support ebb in the face of prospective development 
projects offered by the government and the Coalition. 
Some suspect the insurgents now in the region may be 
outsiders who care little about whom they antagonize. 
WOOD