The Camp Ashraf massacre was carried out by the Iraqi Army of prime minister Nouri Al-maliki on April 8, 2011 in Camp Ashraf against the Iranian opposition group, the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI or MKO), A total of 34 people were killed and 318 injured. The attack was denounced as a "massacre" by PMOI leader Maryam Rajavi and U.S. Senator John Kerry.
Prior to the raid, tensions had been building between the Iraq army and Ashraf residents, who feared an impending attack as soldiers built up their forces outside the camp. The Iraqi general, Ali Ghaidan Majid, who led the raid stated it was in response to Ashraf residents tossing rocks at his troops and throwing themselves in front of military vehicles.
Following the raid, which left 34 dead, the PMOI released footage filmed and edited by members of the group, which show Iraqi soldiers firing at unarmed civilians at Camp Ashraf, and using military vehicles to herd and run down crowds of people. Iraqi authorities, on the other hand, claimed that only three people were killed resisting a military operation to return land from camp residents to farmers. Among the confirmed victims of the raid was Saba Haftbaradaran.
