Camp Liberty, which shelters Iranian dissidents belonging to Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq, was targeted with rockets on the night of Thursday December 26, in an attack that the group claims left three dead and many others wounded.
Reuters reports that Wathiq al-Batat, the commander of the al-Mukhtar Army militia, took responsibility for the attack on the MEK camp and claimed his group had fired 20 Katyusha rockets and mortar rounds at Camp Liberty.
Iraqi authorities have confirmed the attack on Camp Liberty but maintain that only four people were injured in the attack and no one was killed.
Iraqi police have confirmed that four Iranians were transferred from the camp to hospital with injuries.
The MEK, an archenemy of the Islamic Republic, settled in Iraq after its members fought alongside Saddam Hussein against Iran in the 1980s. However, the current government, which came to power after the 2003 U.S. invasion, wants the group out of Iraqi territory.
Reuters quotes al-Mukhtar Army leader Al-Batat saying: “We've asked [the government] to expel them from the country many times, but they are still here,” adding that the group is communicating with politicians they consider linked to al-Qaida.
Meanwhile the US has condemned the attack on Camp Liberty and urged the Iraqi government to guarantee the safety of the camp residents.
