Assassination of well-known counterterrorism adviser fuels fear of Shiite militias in Iraq

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He was a source of knowledge about the self-styled Islamic State and the most sought after and best informed analyst on political and security issues in the troubled Iraq. Hisham al-Hashimi , who generously provided exclusive data in reports published in this newspaper whenever required, was killed late Monday in the vicinity of his home in Baghdad.

Two men on board a motorcycle followed him after a television intervention. In front of his home, in the Zayouna district, and while Hisham parked his vehicle, one of the criminals shot at him that ended his life shortly after. According to his relatives, the gunman opened fire up to five times.

Hisham, an expert on Iraqi armed groups and a government adviser on counter-terrorism, had received death threats in recent months from Iran-backed Shiite militias . "He told me that he had received serious threats from Kataeb Hezbollah [a small but powerful Shiite militia founded after the US invasion of Iraq]," his colleague, activist Ghaith al Tamimi , admits to EL MUNDO .

"Hisham was the leading investigator of jihadist groups in Iraq and provided vital information to arrest and neutralize terrorists," recalls his partner, devastated by the violent loss of a specialist who, at 47, was preserving an independence hard to find in a country ravaged by sectarian quarrels.

A small funeral procession toured Baghdad on Tuesday carrying Hisham's body. "Shortly before his murder, he had confessed to the family that he had received death threats," his brother admitted during the funeral. His death coincides with the escalation of tension led by the Shiite militias under the umbrella of 'Hashid Shaabi' (Popular Mobilization, in Arabic) and Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi, in office since May.

Last week, authorities signed a raid against Kataeb Hezbollah, accused of launching continuous rockets at US interests in the country. In the police operation, fourteen members of the group were arrested. Thirteen of the detainees were released a day later. Tehran-funded and trained militias have also been identified as responsible for the brutal crackdown on participants in the wave of anti-government protests that erupted in October and has claimed more than 600 lives. In recent days, his propaganda channels had circulated photo montages featuring the face of Hisham, the Prime Minister's personal friend and one of his shadow advisers.

"His murder is a tragedy. The timing of the murder suggests that it is a message to the premier and his team and a response to last week's raid," Iraqi political scientist Fanar Haddad told this newspaper . "In broader terms, this is a replica of the Prime Minister's avowed intention to reinforce state authority. Hisham has been the victim of that confrontation that places Al Kadhimi in an extremely complicated position: his death leaves him with few options for save face. Open warfare remains a risky option, "says Haddad.

The amalgam of Shiite militias , consolidated during the fight against the IS, was integrated into the Iraqi security apparatus in late 2016. Its members receive government salaries but continue to operate autonomously , with exclusive loyalty to their employers and often outside of the law. "I promise your killers that we will hunt them down and that they will be punished. We will not allow the killings to return to Iraq for a single second," the prime minister said in a statement.

"ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THE DEFEAT OF THE IS"

A wave of outrage and fear has swept through the community of experts, academics and journalists who appreciated his rigorous analysis. "It was one of the reasons for the defeat of the IS (Islamic State) in Iraq. It greatly helped the forces of the international coalition and the government itself," admits in conversation with this newspaper Ahmed Bashir , a comedian. Iraqi also threatened by Shiite militias. "In October he told me that then-Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi had warned him that his life was in danger. He said, 'Sometimes you talk too much about the militias and I can't protect you. You should do something.'"

Some friends then recommended that he migrate to northern Erbil , the quiet capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, but Hisham chose to stay with his family in Baghdad. "Everyone knows that the militia propaganda media such as Kataeb Hezbollah or Asaib Ahl al Haq, who only obey Khamenei [Iran's supreme leader], incite murder," Bashir replies. "The one who killed him is Kataeb Hezbollah, as he has done before with journalists and protest activists. No one has done anything in the previous killings or carried out serious investigations . They are the same ones who threaten to cut us to pieces if we turn our country. It was not the IS, they are the murderers, "adds Bashir from exile. This Tuesday a police officer in charge of security in the district in which Hisham resided was dismissed without further explanation.

The assassinated had published in recent weeks a series of outstanding investigations into the new structure of the IS and had even interviewed one of its leaders in prison. Five years before Al Bagdadi became a self-proclaimed caliph, Hisham came to meet him. "He lacked the charisma of a leader. He was extremely shy and not very talkative. He was interested in religious studies," the analyst said in statements to this newspaper. "Al Bagdadi offered to enroll in the IS and work in the leadership of the organization," reveals Al Tamimi.

"I KNEW MUCH MORE THAN I PUBLISHED"

Born into a Shiite family in the south of the country, Hisham flirted in his youth with Sunni Islam and ended up becoming a convinced secular. "His added value came from his previous involvement in some terrorist groups. Having become an analyst, his ideas were almost unique," the political scientist Elie Abouaoun, who worked closely with him, stressed in this newspaper. "He belonged to an informal network of people who built bridges and sought links when Iraqi politicians could not agree on anything," he says.

In his latest tweets, Hisham unleashed against the elite that since Saddam Hussein's twilight he had profited in the midst of general disgrace . "The rights, blood and dignity of Iraqis have been lost and their money has gone into the pockets of corrupt politicians," he denounced last Sunday. "He was careful with what he said and knew much more than what he published. He was an independent person who analyzed the political chaos in Iraq with an impartial pen," outlines his friend, researcher Hanar Marouf .

The man of long life experience who became an uncomfortable institution and never ran away aspired to live in a country free of outlaws . "He was a brave voice. He dreamed of a Baghdad that would regain its happy and clean nature and that Iraqis would coexist in harmony, love and independence," concludes Al Tamimi.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

• Iraq
• Iran
• Islamic State
• Attacks

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