Iraq's Falcon Intelligence Cell wants to root out corruption
The head of the Falcon Intelligence Cell, Abu Ali al-Basri, spoke to Al-Monitor about the lingering Islamic State presence in the country and discussed his idea of setting up a similar team to fight corruption.
BAGHDAD — “Terrorism generates corruption and corruption generates terrorism,” stressed Abu Ali al-Basri in his soft-spoken but acutely focused voice.
Basri leads Iraq's elite Falcon Intelligence Cell, which was created to focus on extremist groups including Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS). The counterterrorism intelligence unit has become better known after some high-profile cases and successes in recent years.
Basri told Al-Monitor in a Baghdad interview in late February 2020 that the unit has also at times been involved in corruption cases linked to terrorism.
Only on extremely rare occasions does Basri grant in-person interviews to journalists. His real identity, name and identifying details must remain a secret for security reasons.
