US condemns deadly rocket attack on Mojahedin camp in Iraq

WASHINGTON DC—Lawmakers and the United States government condemned rocket attacks on the Iranian dissident group Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) at Liberty Camp in Baghdad on Thursday, calling it a terrorist attack.

“The United States strongly condemns today’s brutal, senseless terrorist attack on Camp Hurriya that killed and injured camp residents,” said US Secretary of State John Kerry in a statement.

A barrage of rockets fired at Liberty Camp on Thursday killed 23 MEK members and wounded dozens of others, reported the organization’s website, showing photos of the casualties.

“The Department, through its Senior Advisor for MEK Resettlement, will remain actively engaged in the international effort to relocate the residents of Camp Hurriya to safe, permanent locations as soon as possible,” said Kerry.

US Secretary of State said that his government had contacted Iraqi officials “to ensure that the Government of Iraq renders all possible medical and emergency assistance to the victims.”

The MEK, officially known as the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said that “more than 80 Katyusha and Falagh missiles were used in these attacks.”

“The missiles left craters as big as 2 meters deep and 3.5 meters wide. The power of explosions were so severe that many of the trailers were totally destroyed and burned,” MEK said in a statement.

The group’s female leader Maryam Rajavi accused Iran of orchestrating the attack, adding that the Iraqi government was responsible for protecting the camp’s residents.

“In our view, however, as was the case in the six previous bloodbaths in Ashraf and Liberty, the Iranian regime’s agents in the government of Iraq are responsible for this attack and the United States and the United Nations are well aware of this fact,” said Rajavi.

Kerry called on Baghdad to provide additional security and  “to find the perpetrators and hold them accountable for the attack,” as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce described the attack as “deeply troubling,”

“With growing Iranian involvement in Iraq, the security situation around Camp Liberty is increasingly risky,” he said. “The Iraqi Government made an international commitment to protect the Camp’s residents.”

Under pressure from Washington, Baghdad agreed to relocate over 3,000 MEK members from Ashraf camp in Diyala province to Liberty Camp in 2012 as the US government removed the MEK from its list of terrorist organizations the same year.