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.
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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.