Aswat al-Iraq, 1 Oct 2012 – Ismaeel Mesbah al-Waeli, the brother of former Basra governor Mohammad Mesbah al-Waeli who was assassinated Thursday, accused various parties in Iran to killing his brother, carrying out orders of assassinating Iraqi officials and tribal sheikhs.
Living in Germany, al-Waeli said to the al-Hayat daily a death squad entered Iraq from Iran to assassinate officials, MPs and tribal sheikhs that seek to establish a state in Basra.
“I have obtained a fatwa (decree) issued by a cleric in Iran (which al-Hayat refrains from naming) to physically eliminate activists in Basra and Meysan,” he said.
“This list includes the names of physicians, engineers, lawyers and other significant figures,” he added.
“A month ago I informed my brother that I had obtained a list of the names they will kill, with him being on it, but he did not follow up on this information and said local officials have decreased his home’s security team. However, current Basra governor Khalaf Abdolsamad denied this,” al-Waeli continued.
“My brother does not travel inside the province with his security team, and this made everything easier for those waiting to carry out their plan,” he added.