Iraqi Intelligence Service
premier intelligence agency of Iraq under Saddam Hussein
The Iraqi Intelligence Service (Arabic: جهاز المخابرات العامة العراقية, romanized: Jihaz Al-Mukhabarat Al-Eiraqii, lit. 'General Intelligence Directorate of Iraq') also known as the Mukhabarat, General Intelligence Directorate, or Party Intelligence, was an 8,000-man agency that served as the main state civilian intelligence and security agency in Iraq under Saddam Hussein.
The Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) was primarily concerned with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and conducting analysis and development intelligence gathering and counterintelligence systems to create national security, clandestine and covert operations, counterinsurgency, counterintelligence, counter-revolutionary, creation a civilian security network intelligence, executive protection (especially senior IIS officials and visiting dignitaries), psychological warfare operations, political warfare against target countries, support irregular warfare operations, surveillance and suppression those who disagree with the government, and threat assessment to national security. But also performed many activities inside Iraq in conjunction with the Directorate of General Security (DGS) as a secret police organization.
The most important section of the IIS was Directorate 4: the Secret Service. One of the well known Directors was Rafi Daham al-Tikriti (Arabic: رافع دحام مجول التكريتي) the former Iraqi Ambassador to Turkey and the last Chief of the Iraqi Intelligence Service. The Secret Service was tasked with infiltrating both foreign and domestic governments, unions, embassies, and opposition groups. IIS often worked closely with the Iraqi Directorate of General Security (the Iraqi equivalent of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)) when conducting domestic activities.
IIS is alleged to be responsible for a number of assassinations and attempted assassinations abroad. These include the assassinations of former Iraqi prime minister Abdul Razzaq an-Naif in London (July 1978), Salih Mahdi Ammash in Helsinki (January 1985), Sheikh Talib al-Suhail al-Tamimi in Beirut (April 1994), Ayatollah Mehdi al-Hakim in Sudan (January 1988) and Dr. Ayad Habashi in Rome (October 1986), as well as the attempted assassinations of President George H. W. Bush, the Emir of Kuwait Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and the former Iraqi prime minister Ayad Allawi.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Iraqi Intelligence Service” as premier intelligence agency of Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as premier intelligence agency of Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1164304. Authority coordinates are 33.310, 44.359. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1978, 1985, 1994 and 1988.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Iraqi Intelligence Service”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Iraqi Intelligence Service primary sources, Iraqi Intelligence Service archive and Iraqi research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Iraqi Intelligence Service”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Iraqi Intelligence Service” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.