Mystery Surrounds Deaths of Iranian Exiles at Iraqi Camp
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(BAGHDAD) — United Nations officials are trying to determine what happened Sunday at an Iranian exile camp in Iraq where more than 50 people were allegedly killed.
Camp Ashraf northeast of Baghdad is where about 100 members of Iran’s outlawed Mujahedeen-e-Khalq reside. Thousands more exiles are staying at a camp inside the capital.
While details of Sunday’s incident remain sketchy, a spokesman for the MEK’s Paris-based parent organization charged that Iraqi security forces attacked members of his group at Camp Ashraf, leaving 52 dead. Some were allegedly killed with their hands cuffed behind their backs.
With the U.N. mission to Iraq demanding answers, the Iraqi government claims its own investigation shows that the incident was the result of infighting at Camp Ashraf and that its security forces were not involved. Iraqi officials also dispute the number of casualties, putting it closer to 24.
Although MEK opposes Iran’s clerical regime, it is considered a terrorist group by the U.S. government.
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