Iraqi Commander: Baghdad Determined to Expel All MKO Members
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Commander of Iraqi Army First Lieutenant General Ali Ghaidan who is visiting Iran at the head of a military delegation said on Wednesday that Baghdad is determined to expel the remaining members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorist organization.
Ghaidan made the comment in a meeting with the Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour in which the two top commanders also talked about joint combat against terrorism and border security.
The Iraqi commander who accompanied the Iraqi defense minister on his trip to Iran, referred to the recent clashes in Camp Ashraf -- in which at least 50 MKO members were killed -- and said his country is determined to get rid of MKO members for good.
He also praised the Islamic Republic of Iran’s progress in various field, particularly in military warfare and defense industries.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 13 thanked the Iraqi government for its measures to close Camp Ashraf, the main training base of the MKO terrorists, and called on Baghdad to expel the remaining members of the group.
On September 1 some 52 MKO members were killed in clashes at the camp, which the Iraqi authorities blamed on infighting among the camp’s 100 residents.
The notorious camp, which in its heyday housed thousands of MKO terrorists, was fully evacuated by the Iraqi authorities from its much-hated residents on September 11.
Camp Ashraf’s residents have been relocated to Camp Liberty, near Baghdad's international airport, under a United Nations-brokered deal that wants them resettled in other countries. A total of 162 MKO members have been resettled abroad so far, mostly in Albania.
MKO members were involved in many terrorist activities in Iran before they went to Iran in 1986, where they found a true patron in Iraq's deposed dictator Saddam Hussein who gave them shelter and arms.
They fought along Saddam forces in the war it had imposed on Iran (1980-1988) and later turned their guns against the Iraqi citizens who had revolted against the ruthless dictator in 1991.