Rockets Hit Camp Hurriya – Home to MEK Exiles

Three Dead, More than 50 Injured

The director of Iraq’s civil aviation administration reported that three rockets landed today at Camp Hurriya (Liberty), near Baghdad international airport, and home to some 3,000 members of an Iranian militant group in exile, Mujahedeen Khalq (MEK). Three MEK members were killed and more than 50 injured.

Last September, an armed group, believed to be under the direction of the Quds Force, IRGC’s special forces in charge of Iran’s extraterritorial activities, massacred more than 50 unarmed MEK members living in Camp Ashraf, near the Iranian border. Seven members of MEK were also abducted from the camp and it is feared they were taken to Iran. 

The National Council of Resistance, the umbrella non-military arm of MEK, said today that “dozens of missiles” landed at their camp. (AFP, 27 December)

In Washington, a State Department spokesperson condemned the attack and called on the Iraqi government to ensure security for the residents of Camp Hurriya.

UPDATE: An armed Shia militant group calling themselves “Al-Mukhtar Army” has taken responsibility for the rocket attack on Camp Hurriya.

File photo: Camp Hurriya, Baghdad (UN) 

Iraq PM in Tehran

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Tehran today for two days of talks with senior Iranian officials. It is Maliki's first visit to Tehran since Rouhani became president.

Maliki’s spokesman, Ali Mussawi, told reporters in Baghdad before departing for Tehran that the talks would focus on energy cooperation between the two countries. (AFP, 5 December)

However, it is expected that the Syrian conflict to top the agenda. Iran is a key ally of Assad’s regime, and Iraqi Shia militant groups are fighting under the Iranian direction in Syria. Iran is also using the Iraqi airspace to supply arms to the Syrians. But the Syrian conflict has spilled over into Iraq, with the country suffering from a surge in terrorist attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), an Al-Qaeda affiliate heavily involved in Syrian conflict.

Also expected to be discussed is the status of MKO militants at Camp Liberty near Baghdad. In September, during a terrorist attack on Camp Ashraf, more than 50 unarmed members of the organization were killed. The Iraqi government has not yet identified the group behind the killings, but Iran is suspected to have ordered the attack. 

Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported that Maliki was to meet Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Rouhani, parliament speaker Ali Larijani, and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif during his stay in Tehran.

Maliki is also scheduled to visit Mashhad, a Shiite pilgrimage city in the northeast Iran.

Meanwhile, Iran and Iraq were at odds today at OPEC, with both fiercely backing their respective candidates to become the next secretary general of the organization. Today’s meeting in Vienna ended with neither of the candidates able to muster the majority vote.

Photo credit: Iraqi prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (L) with Iran’s First VP Eshaq Jahangiri at a news conference at Assadabad Palace in Tehran. 4 December 2013. (IRIB)

Massacre at Camp Ashraf

Iraqi security forces today attacked Camp Ashraf, a base for a group of unarmed members of Mujahedeen Khalq Organization (MKO or MEK), massacring 47 people, including 9 patients at its clinic. Many experts believe that the attack was a coordinated action by the Iraqis and the Iranian government’s IRGC Quds Force (IRGC-QF).

Ashraf Camp, as well as Camp Hurriyah (formerly Camp Liberty) in the outskirts of Baghdad, which also houses unarmed MKO militants, is supposedly under the protection of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI). There was no immediate reaction to the massacre by the Iraqi authorities.

Blogger’s Note: Our condolences go out to the families, friends and comrades of the victims of this massacre and those who were injured in today’s attack. The Iraqi government is responsible for the well being of the injured and the safety of all the residents at Ashraf and Hurriyah.

Photo credit: Dead bodies at Camp Ashraf, 1 September 2013 (Twitter)

UN Condemns Attack on Iranian Exile Camp

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today strongly condemned the mortar attack on Iranian exile camp outside Baghdad.

UN News Center stated that the camp was attacked early in the morning today while most of the residents were sleeping. Six persons were killed and scores wounded. The camp serves as a transit facility for more than 3,000 exiles, most of them MEK members, where a process to determine their refugee status is being carried out by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

“The Secretary-General calls on the Government of Iraq, which is responsible for the safety and security of residents of both Camp Liberty and Camp Ashraf, to promptly and fully investigate the incident and bring perpetrators to justice,” said Mr. Ban's spokesperson in a statement. “He has repeatedly stated that violence and provocation are unacceptable.” (UN News Center, 9 February)

The High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, expressed his shock about the attack calling it “a despicable act of violence.”

“I call on the Iraqi Government to do everything it can to guarantee security to the residents,” he said. “The perpetrators must be found and brought to justice without delay.”

In a news release, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said it is closely liaising with the Government on the response to the incident, including medical assistance to the wounded.

Mr. Ban's Special Representative in the country, Martin Kobler, has also asked Iraqi authorities to promptly conduct an investigation into the mortar explosions.

Photo: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. (UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe)