BAGHDAD, July 31 (UPI) -- U.S. officials say they are investigating a deadly Iraqi security force raid on an Iranian dissidents' camp in northern Iraq.
Investigators pictured the raid as the legitimate action of a sovereign government but found the violence "disturbing." There were reports of at least seven people killed. An Iraqi spokesman called most cases "death by rioting."
Spokesman Al al-Dabbagh said several residents died after throwing themselves in front of police vehicles entering the camp while others were shot by snipers as they tried to escape, The Christian Science Monitor reported.
Camp advocates demonstrating in Washington called the claims "ridiculous."
Tuesday's raid at Camp Ashraf, a long-time home to more than 3,000 members of the People's Mujahedin of Iran, was seen by some as a declaration of sovereignty by the Iraqi government, which took over guarding the camp from the U.S. military.
