Exclusive: Assad and Maliki’s plans to hide Syrian chemical weapons in Iraq

(IraqiNews.com) A senior military official in the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, who requested anonymity, revealed a formal agreement set in November of 2013 by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and the President of the former Iraqi government, Nuri al-Maliki, to transfer Syrian chemical weapons stockpiles to Baghdad for storage and to evade international inspectors.

The official stressed that al-Maliki secretly agreed to the Syrian demand, through the chief of military intelligence Almksusi Hatem who was assigned alongside members of al-Maliki’s personal office, including the son of the latter, Ahmed, to take over the task—and, was dismissed a few days ago by the Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

The official explained that al-Maliki agreed to the request of Assad to temporarily transfer unspecified amounts from the arsenal of Syrian chemical weapons to Baghdad, but it is uncertain if any of those banned weapons have already been transferred to Baghdad.

He added, “In the end of November 2013, al-Assad sent Colonel Mohamed Fadel from the Syrian intelligence, along with three other officers to Baghdad. Maliki then called a number of military leaders to participate in a meeting at his personal office in the Green Zone, and they discussed the ability to transport chemicals through containers and not in the form of prepared weapons. The transfer process with all its details was agreed upon.”

However, the officer said, “We are not certain if part of the chemical Syrian arms was actually transferred to Iraq away from the UN team’s sight, or if the plan is not yet implemented because of the security implications witnessed in al-Anbar border city with Syria on December 28 — in light of the leaks indicated that al-Assad and al-Maliki agreed to transfer the shipment overland, away from the eyes of international observers at the Damascus international Airport at that time — which led to cutting the road between the two countries.”