Stop Fundamentalism – Iranian and Iraqi governments were directly involved in the February 9 shelling of Camp Liberty, killing six Iranian refugees and wounding about one hundred, said a statement by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the Iranian opposition movement in exile. Another resident died in a Baghdad hospital yesterday as the result of his injuries, said the same source.
Camp Liberty is home to 3100 Iranian refugees, members of the Mujahedin-e Khlaq Organization (MEK or PMOI) which opposes the Iranian theocratic regime. The unarmed residents were moved to this camp from Camp Ashraf last year to undergo refugee determination process by the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.
In the statement, the NCRI says that the missile attack was coordinated with the government of Iraq security and military agencies, including Prime Minister’s office and also the Interior Ministry, by the Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad, Hassan Danaiefar. The operation was ordered by the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, states the opposition.
Furthermore, all the logistics for the operation were provided by the Interior Ministry and the Iraqi police, says the statement.
According to the opposition, unlike other terrorist attacks that is done using unconventional and some handmade weaponry, the Saturday’s attack was carried out using factory made rockets on standard launch pads, leading to the conclusion that there has been government involvement as transferring the equipment to the location would not have been possible otherwise.
The Iranian opposition says that in a report sent to Tehran following the attack by Iranian operatives in Baghdad, it is stated that the rockets used in the attack were transferred to the launch location using Iraqi Ambulances with the escort provided by two airport police vehicles. They were then hidden in tents setup from the night before for the purpose. Also, the location where the missiles were fired from and the road leading to that location are all being constantly watched by Baghdad airport surveillance cameras and therefore the activities should have been recorded and noticed in advance.
Two separate attacks were to take place with a one hour gap in between, opposition said, firing a total of 100 shells at the half kilometer square camp packed with unarmed refugees. But the second group was detected and arrested shortly after the first launch by some uninformed police agents. That prevented the second attack from taking place leaving 60 unfired missiles at the scene.
Those arrested were all subsequently released after interventions by the office of Prime Minister.
Quite noticeable is the group that took responsibility for the attack. It was formed only a week before the attack. “The Army of Mukhtar” according to credible Arabic media such as Al-Hayat, it was formed to support the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the name “Nukhtar” is a reference to Maliki himself.
