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Iraq violence: Iranian exiles hit by intense rocket fire | Iraq violence: Iranian exiles hit by intense rocket fire |
(about 5 hours later) | |
A former military base in Iraq housing exiled Iranian opposition members has come under intense rocket fire. | A former military base in Iraq housing exiled Iranian opposition members has come under intense rocket fire. |
The Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK) says 23 members and three policemen were killed in the attack on Camp Liberty, near Baghdad airport. | |
The MEK has been in exile since Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979. Camp Liberty came under rocket fire in February 2013 and in December 2013. | |
An Iraqi Shia militia, the Mukhtar Army, claimed the latest attack. | An Iraqi Shia militia, the Mukhtar Army, claimed the latest attack. |
Mukhtar Army leader Wathiq al-Battat told Iran's Fars news agency that his group had frequently warned the MEK to "leave Iraqi soil as soon as possible", | |
The US designated the MEK (also known as People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, or PMOI) as a terrorist organisation in 1997 but took it off its blacklist in 2012 in view of its "public renunciation of violence". | |
The 23 reported deaths have not been independently verified. | The 23 reported deaths have not been independently verified. |
US Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed in a statement that residents of the camp were killed and injured, but he did not specify how many. | US Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed in a statement that residents of the camp were killed and injured, but he did not specify how many. |
He said the US would assist the UN in the relocation of all camp residents "to a permanent and safe location outside of Iraq". | He said the US would assist the UN in the relocation of all camp residents "to a permanent and safe location outside of Iraq". |
The MEK sided with Saddam Hussein during Iran's war with Iraq in the 1980s but fell out with Baghdad after the Iraqi leader was overthrown by a US-led invasion in 2003. | |
The remaining Iranian dissidents, who advocate the removal of Iran's clerical leaders, were moved to Camp Liberty in 2012. | The remaining Iranian dissidents, who advocate the removal of Iran's clerical leaders, were moved to Camp Liberty in 2012. |
They have blamed Iran for instigating the attack and have called for the US and the UN to launch an inquiry. | They have blamed Iran for instigating the attack and have called for the US and the UN to launch an inquiry. |
Last year Islamic State militants fired rockets near the international airport as it sought to destabilise the capital. | Last year Islamic State militants fired rockets near the international airport as it sought to destabilise the capital. |