This was not the first time that I had the chance to interview an intelligence officer. Their world is dark and ruthless and full of deadly blows. The Iraqi intelligence agency showed no leniency with whoever it viewed as an enemy. It can be said that the regime was fearful and fearsome.
Salem al-Jomaili, director of the US branch of the intelligence agency under Saddam Hussein, sat down for a series of interviews with Asharq Al-Awsat, revealing plots and secrets that date back to the time he worked for the former regime. In the latest episode, he recalled various assassination and bomb plots that the former regime planned against perceived enemies and rivals.
Before 1980, Iraqi intelligence was not active in carrying out special operations. It limited itself to targeting Palestinian figures, who had “surrendered” to Israel, and Iraqi figures, who were involved in the July 17, 1968, revolution.
The agency witnessed major change with the eruption of the crisis in Iran and the arrival of Khomeini to power after the country’s 1979 revolution. Over time, the agency developed its defense capabilities in combating operations and sabotage attempts to later honing its skills in carrying out assassinations, the use of explosives and deadly toxins, said Jomaili.
In 1980, Khomeini’s Iran adopted its policy of “exporting the revolution” with its hostile attitude leading to a series of terrorist operations in Iraq in order to undermine the Saddam regime. The Iraqi intelligence agency sensed the danger from Iran, so it sought to expand its expertise by developing bomb-making skills.
The “Technical Research Center” was tasked with providing the material needed to make explosives and with time, it was able to respond to the Iranian attacks. Iraqi intelligence would also bring in Dr. Abdul Moneim Mahmoud Ahmed, an Egyptian chemical and biological research expert, to act as a technical advisor to chief of intelligence Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, revealed al-Jomaili.
“We understood that the man was responsible for developing research in several fields, such as toxins and chemicals. He also oversaw the training of explosives experts. We found out that he did not join Iraqi intelligence as part of cooperation between Egypt and Iraq. Rather his name came up during an Iraqi defense ministry delegation visit to Egypt where they were seeking Egyptian expertise in developing the army’s chemical weapons capabilities,” he added.
Dr. Abdul Moneim had a university career, had previously worked in the army and was director of a chemical factory in Egypt. In Iraq, he set up a special lab for the intelligence agency in the Salman Pak area and also cooperated with Swiss and German companies. In 1986, the al-Ghafiqi Project was formed and explosive-making duties were assigned to it under the supervision of Dr. Abdul Moneim. Palestinian experts also joined the team.
Dr. Abdul Moneim would continue to work for Iraqi intelligence until the US invasion. He was arrested by American troops and died in prison.
Bush assassination plot
Jomaili confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat a plot by Iraqi intelligence to assassinate then US President George Bush in Kuwait in April 1993. The assassination would be an act of retaliation against “what America did to Iraq and its army during Bush’s time in office,” he said.
He revealed that a Land Cruiser vehicle was to be booby-trapped with explosives. Its four passengers would also be wearing explosives vests. Three of the passengers were intelligence agents and the fourth a Kuwaiti Bidoon, who was tasked with guiding them in the desert and driving the agents into Kuwait.
The vehicle was supposed to be remotely detonated as Bush’s convoy made its way through Kuwait City. The explosion would bring the convoy to a halt and the suicide bombers would then blow themselves up with the target in sight.
The vehicle was loaded with 100 kgs of explosives and concealed in a way that would not be detected. It would enter Kuwait after passing through another Gulf country. One of the would-be attackers got cold feet and informed Kuwaiti authorities of the plot. The perpetrators were all arrested and the plot was a failure. The US retaliated by striking the intelligence headquarters in Baghdad with 22 rockets in June 1993.
Suez plot
Jomaili revealed that Iraqi intelligence also sought to carry out an attack in the Suez Canal to obstruct the passage of vessels. The canal was vital for the passage of international coalition forces to the Gulf region. The plot called for booby-trapping a vessel that would be loaded with scrap metal and cement. The ship would be blown up in the middle of the canal to prevent American forces from passing through.
The ship was bought by the intelligence agency from India’s Mumbai port. It was supposed to be loaded with cement at Yemen’s Aden port where 14 intelligence officers were waiting. Among them was a suicide officer from the special operations unit. A hundred kilograms of high explosives would be used to sink the ship in the middle of the canal.
Cement was not available in Yemen, so the ship was loaded large amounts of scrap metal, delaying its departure from Aden at the specified time. A day before it was scheduled to set sail, Saddam ordered the halt of the operation, said Jomaili. The United Nations Security Council had issued a resolution calling for a ceasefire and binding Iraq to halt all hostile and terrorist operations abroad.
It was then a mad scramble to get in touch with the operatives in Yemen given that contacts between Baghdad and the outside world were limited. An intelligence officer was forced to travel to Oman to communicate with the head of the operation in Aden. He was told to bring the ship back to port if it had already set sail. Fortunately, it was still docked at the port. Had the operation gone through, Iraq would have had to pay billions of dollars in damage.
After the mission was aborted, the operatives had the arduous task of dismantling the explosives and getting rid of them at sea. The ship also had to have its name changed. The whole process took around six months, while its Greek captain and Indian crew were none the wiser, revealed Jomaili.
