The Washington Post published an article describing the latest missile attack on the Iranian dissidents living in Camp Liberty near Baghdad International airport.
The Post said videos posted online by the MEK’s political umbrella appeared to show Thursday’s attack and aftermath. In one clip, the whizzing of rockets can be heard, followed by images of explosions and burning buildings.
Footage posted Friday showed burned-out trailers, with debris scattered across muddy ground.
The Post cited Shahin Gobadi, the MEK spokesman, accusing “agents” of the Iranian regime “inside the government of Iraq” for launching the attack. He placed responsibility for the attack on the Iraqi government and the United Nations.
The United States urged Baghdad to increase security at Camp Liberty, a former U.S. military installation now used to house members of the MEK, and to hold accountable those responsible for the attack. The United Nations also condemned the attack.
“This is a most deplorable act and I am greatly concerned at the harm . . . inflicted on those living at Camp Liberty,” U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said.
Rights group Amnesty International urged an investigation.
The remaining Iranian dissidents in Iraq, who seek the overthrow of Iran’s clerical leadership established by the 1979 Islamic revolution, were disarmed after Iraq’s invasion in 2003 and later moved to Camp Liberty.
There have been several attacks against the MEK over the past decade. An estimated 3,000 residents at Camp Liberty have been awaiting resettlement abroad for years.
U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Thursday that Washington was committed to assisting the U.N. refugee agency in relocating all of the camp’s residents “to a permanent and safe location outside of Iraq.”