2011 Camp Ashraf raid
| Camp Ashraf raid | |
|---|---|
| Part of Iraq War | |
Gated entrance to Camp Ashraf
|
|
| Type | Military raid |
| Location | Camp Ashraf, Iraq |
| Target | Mujahedin-e Khalq |
| Date | April 8, 2011 04:45 (UTC+3) |
| Executed by |
 Iraq
|
| Casualties | 34 killed 318 injured |
On April 8, 2011, the Iraqi Army launched a raid against the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI or MKO), an Iranian opposition group based at Camp Ashraf. 34 people were killed and 318 injured in the raid. The attack was denounced as a "massacre" by PMOI leader Maryam Rajavi and U.S. Senator John Kerry.
Camp Ashraf is located northeast of the Iraqi town of Khalis, about 120 kilometers west of the Iranian border and 60 kilometers north of Baghdad, and is the seat of the PMOI. Iraq and Iran have designated the PMOI a terrorist group, though not the United States, European Union or United Nations. The PMOI was welcomed into Iraq in the 1980s by then-President Saddam Hussein who funded and armed the group, which fought alongside Iraqi forces during the Iran–Iraq War.
Following the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, U.S. troops took control of Camp Ashraf and disarmed its fighters. In return, the U.S. military signed an agreement which provided the camp's 3,400 residents protected status under the Geneva Conventions.
In 2009, the U.S. military handed over control to the Shi'a dominated Iraqi government, which has repeatedly vowed to close the camp as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has reportedly been trying to bolster his country's ties with Iran.
The Iraqi Army has raided Camp Ashraf prior to the April 2011 attack. In July 2009, Iraqi security forces entered the camp, killing at least nine people and injuring some 400 people.
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