The United States on Sunday condemned an attack on a camp in Iraq housing Iranian exiles who claimed the violence cost at least 50 lives.
“The United States strongly condemns the terrible events that took place at Camp Ashraf today, which according to various reports resulted in the deaths of and injuries to numerous camp residents,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement.
Iranian exiles claimed Iraqi troops killed more than 50 of their members, charges officials steadfastly denied.
Officials and the group offered wildly different accounts of the unrest, though, none of which could be independently confirmed by AFP.
The United Nations said it was trying to establish what took place and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki formed a committee to probe the incident.
“We are deeply concerned about these reports and are in regular contact with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), as well as Government of Iraq officials,” Harf added, noting that Washington backed UNAMI efforts to conduct its own assessment of what happened.
“Those found to be responsible must be held fully accountable,” Harf said.
US condemns attack at Iraq camp housing Iranian exiles
