Spymaster | Iraq
Caretaker PM Mustafa Al Kazemi maintains grip on Falcon Cell

The Intelligence Gazette
More OSINT for French embassies, Ukraine pushes for NATO import certification, security purge continues in Iraq, Chinese Communist Youth League lines up with Xi Jinping

Appointments, reforms and key issues: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community. This week, we bring news from Paris, Kyiv, Baghdad and Beijing.

FranceFrench foreign ministry pushes for greater use of OSINT in French embassies

UkraineKyiv wants NATO 302 form for arms deliveries

IraqMohammed Al Sudani gets rid of Mustafa Al Kadhimi's faithful security ally

ChinaCommunist Youth League lines up with Xi Jinping

Iraq
Militias aim for top intelligence seat after Sudani approved as PM

Just weeks into the job, new Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is already having to deal with militia rivalries. To keep these in check, the Coordination Framework candidate has also named himself head of the national intelligence service.

The Intelligence Gazette
Charles III's spies, Iraqi Mukhabarat mobilised, Confucius Institutes under US pressure, research at GCHQ, German counter-espionage and France's CNRLT

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets from the global intelligence community and this week we're heading to Kerbala, Washington, London, Berlin and Paris.

United Kingdom Charles III, King of Spies

Iraq Intelligence services suit up ahead of Arba'een pilgrimage

United States/China Pressure mounts on Confucius institutes

United Kingdom GCHQ creates a behavioural science research centre to screen hires

Germany Doubts over counter-terrorism, now counter-espionage

France New candidate for the CNRLT

Iraq
Talabani family feud hinders presidential negotiations

The yearlong rift within the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is hampering talks between Iraqi Kurdistan's political parties as they tackle the very urgent task of appointing a president. It has also prompted Baghdad to take direct action.

France, Iraq
Paris rallies to save Iraqi contracts

Despite the many technical and political obstacles hampering French investments in Iraq, France is determined not to miss out on the potential economic opportunities and is counting on senators and industry bosses to bolster the bilateral relationship.

Spotlight | Iraq, United States
Washington takes stock of Baghdad's intelligence gaps

As it approaches the end of the second year of its partial military withdrawal from the country, the United States is assessing its Iraqi partner's intelligence capabilities. An observation of persistent shortcomings argues in favour of keeping its advisory missions in place.

France, Iraq
French security firms struggle to get foot back in Iraq

The promise of contracts tied to large infrastructure projects made by Baghdad raised high hopes among French security specialists, particularly GEOS and Amarante. But these opportunities have yet to materialise.

Iraq
Qassem Al Araji treads carefully with results of probe into PM Kadhimi's attempted assassination

After a drone attack on the home of the Iraqi prime minister last month, the country's national security adviser Qassem Al Araji fell short of naming potential perpetrators when unveiling his findings on 29 November to avoid stirring the Shi'ite militia hornet's nest.

Iraq, United States
Falcon cell restores image in mission with coalition

The counterintelligence unit, which reputedly reports directly to the prime minister and former intelligence chief Mustafa al-Kazemi, has emerged after months of laying low to conduct an operation against Islamic State fighters in the Hamrin Mountains.

Iraq
Secret Falcon Cell further challenged by Basra assault

Iraq's Falcons counterintelligence unit was attacked by a Shi'ite militia group in Basra earlier this month, dealing it another blow and exposing the struggle the prime minister is having with pro-Iranian factions.

Iraq
Militias target intelligence service INIS

When an officer of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS), Mohammed Latin, was assassinated at his home in the Mansour [...]

Iraq
After Baghdad bombings, Kazimi gives intelligence services a firm shaking

In the wake of the twin attacks in Bagdad on 21 January, Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kazimi is restructuring the country's main intelligence and security agencies and is using the opportunity to appoint individuals able to answer to him.

Iraq
Militia groups ejected from Baghdad airport

According to our sources, after consulting with the Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS), the director of Iraq's Civil Aviation Authority, [...]

Iraq
Al Kazimi puts intelligence at centre of anti-corruption strategy

Announced on 31 August by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kazimi, the composition of the new anti-corruption committee, directly attached [...]