The Iraqi local officials in the Province of Diyala have revealed that the Iraqi security forces found a hidden arsenal inside camp Ashraf.
Camp Ashraf was for years the armed training base in Iraq for the members of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization known as MKO, where the group was sheltered by former President Saddam Hussein.
The local officials stated the US troops already claimed they had disarmed the MKO members but it seems that was not true.
The mayor of Al Khalis where the camp is located showed the pictures of the weapons and said that they were buried inside the camp near the shacks of the MKO members.
Diyala’s police chief said the MKO leaders also claimed that they had handed over more than 17 thousands of weapons to the US troops since the US invasion in 2003.
Recently MKO said the Iraqi security forces killed more than 34 of its members in the latest clashes on April.
Clashes reportedly erupted when Iraqi security forces began to regain control of the land confiscated by Saddam Hussein to setup the MKO camp. Officials say, members of the camp began hurling stones and attacking the security forces with knives and other weapons as they were carrying out their duty.
Iraqi defense ministry also held a press conference inside the camp to show that the MKO claims were baseless.
The MKO is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community, and is responsible for numerous terrorist acts against both Iranians and Iraqis.
Since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the group has been backed by some in the US, who also argue for the MKO to be taken off the US terror list. However, in line with the new Iraqi constitution, Baghdad government has assured it is determined to expel the MKO from Iraq by the end of 2011.
Wisam al-Bayati
