At least 3 Iranians killed after attack in Ashraf Camp in northeastern Iraq

[News_Editor]

At least 3 Iranians killed after attack in Ashraf Camp in northeastern Iraq

2011-04-09 00:09:33 GMT+7 (ICT)

DIYALA, IRAQ (BNO NEWS) -- Iraqi forces on Friday killed at least 3 Iranians and injured 13 more in an attack inside the Ashraf Camp in northeastern Iraq, the Aswat Al Iraq news agency reported.

The Iranian nationals were members of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI), an exiled armed organization. The gunfire exchange took place when Iraqi forces from the 5th division tried to set up a checkpoint inside the camp located in Diyala Governorate.

The Iranian militants clashed with the Iraqi forces which prompted a gun battle. Iraqi authorities said that two of them burned themselves before the clashes. In addition, six Iraqi soldiers were injured as Iranians threw stones at them.

PMOI indicated in its website that many of its members were killed but this has not been confirmed by officials. The Iranian opposition organization established in Diyala's Camp Ashraf in the 1980's during the Iran-Iraq war.

The exiled group claimed that approximately 1,500 Iraqi soldiers attacked the camp, killing at least 30 people and injuring over 300. The operation also allegedly included armored vehicles.

Civilians also live in Camp Ashraf. The UK government informed that at least 17 civilians were killed in Friday's clashes. Iraqi authorities did not mention any civilian losses.

The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) deplored the loss of lives and called on Iraq to disclose the exact circumstances of the incident as well as ceasing violent operations in Camp Ashraf.

"The Iraqi Government has provided us with assurances on several occasions that it will treat individual residents of Camp Ashraf in a humane manner, act in accordance with Iraqi law, the Iraqi Constitution and its international obligations. We urge the Iraq to uphold this commitment," said FCO Minister Alistair Burt.

In addition, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) requested the deployment of a humanitarian monitoring mission to Camp Ashraf as soon as possible to control the situation and ensure that health care is provided to victims and human rights respected.

Many political parties and officials have claimed that the PMOI fighters took part in suppressing the Shiite uprising that broke out in southern Iraq after the second Gulf War in 1991 and have been trying to drive the group out of Iraqi soil.

In 1992, PMOI attacked Iranian embassies in 13 countries. In 2000, the group launched a mortar attack on the Tehran offices of Khamenei, the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and then-Iranian President Mohammad Khatami.

The organization was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States in 1997 and by the European Union in 2002. However, after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that ended Saddam Hussein's regime, the Mujahideen-e-Khalq group was removed from the EU's list of terrorist organizations in 2009.

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