U.S. lawmakers condemn raid on Camp Ashraf

WASHINGTON, July 29 (UPI) -- The Iraqi government must honor its commitments regarding the security for Iranian dissidents under siege in an enclave in Diyala province, U.S. officials say.

Iraqi security forces raided Camp Ashraf in Diyala province, home to the dissident People's Mujahedin of Iran. The PMOI had secured commitments from U.S. military forces in January, though the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces to their military bases June 30 left the Iraqi military in tacit control.

U.S. Rep. Howard Berman, the Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and ranking member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., called on the Iraqi government to honor its security commitments regarding the residents at Camp Ashraf.

"We are concerned about recent reports of violence between Iraqi security forces and residents of Ashraf," the lawmakers said in a joint statement.

Berman and Ros-Lehtinen reminded Baghdad it had guaranteed the physical security of the Iranian dissidents following the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from the area.

"The Iraqi government must live up to its commitment to ensure the continued well-being of those living in Ashraf and prevent their involuntary return to Iran," the statement continued.

Members of the PMOI say as many as seven residents at Camp Ashraf died during the melee with Iraqi security forces, though Baghdad maintains the reports of violence are exaggerated.

The PMOI earned a reputation as a terrorist organization in the 1980s for its targeting of Iranian leaders and support for Saddam Hussein during the bloody conflict with Iran.

It surrendered to U.S. military forces in 2003 and claims it now favors peaceful opposition to the clerical regime in Iran.