NCRI – As stated in previous statements, the great massacre of Ashraf residents on September 1st was ordered by Khamenei himself and implemented by forces under command of Maliki in complete coordination with the terrorist Qods Force. While disclosing further details on this matter, the Iranian Resistance demands formation of an international fact-finding committee to conduct impartial and thorough investigation into this great crime and to prosecute and punish its perpetrators:
1. Since some time ago, the Qods Force had been tasked by Khamenei to plan this massacre that was to be implemented by government of Iraq. According to the plan, all Ashraf residents were to be killed or taken hostage. Following the chemical bombing of Damascus outskirts and the rising probability of a military strike by U.S. against Syria, Khamenei demanded that the project of massacre in Ashraf be expedited.
2. On Tuesday, August 27, Commander of the terrorist Qods Force Ghassem Solaymani hurriedly travelled to Iraq and met with Maliki out of ordinary administrative hours (10:30 pm). In that meeting, the probability of a U.S. attack on Syria and the Ashraf massacre were discussed. In that meeting, where Maliki’s National Security Advisor Faleh Fayyaz was also present, Solaymani and Maliki concurred on the timing of the attack on Ashraf. Therefore, practical steps to implement this attack, whose preparations had already been made, began after Solaymani’s visit.
3. To prepare for the attack, sometime in advance, a group of intelligence agents from the Iraqi prime ministry headed by Haidar Azab were stationed in Ashraf. Haidar Azab is already summoned by the Spanish National Court for participation in two massacres in Ashraf in 2009 and 2011. In recent days, to strengthen this team, Ahmed Khozair, another criminal also involved in the Ashraf massacres, had been transferred to Ashraf.
4. Since a few days prior to the massacre, a 4-man team from the intelligence, under supervision of Haidar Azab, was busy conducting reconnaissance of the area that was attacked. In particular, they were conducting reconnaissance on the northern flank of Ashraf on the berm overlooking Street 100, between Ashraf’s mosque and Tulips Square. These people used masks in order not to be identified by residents or even Iraqi forces. The attack of September 1st was conducted from this Area.
5. At midnight Saturday, August 31 (around 6 hours prior to the attack), Major General Jamil Shemeri, Commander of the Diyala Police, came to Camp Ashraf and got stationed in the headquarters of the rapid deployment police force. He made necessary coordination to begin the attack with Colonel Nahad, Commander of the battalion stationed in Ashraf.
6. Under supervision of Major General Jamil, from 1 a.m., the attacking force that had been transferred from Baghdad to Ashraf were transferred to behind the berm north of Street 100. This transfer was conducted with outmost secrecy to avoid giving away the operation.
7. The acting unit was from special operations forces (SWAT) and they carried special short hilt weapons. Additionally, they were armed with 9 mm handguns with silencer. They carried with them metal and plastic handcuffs. They were well trained henchmen and had trained well for this operation. They were expert in explosions and short range assassinations.
8. The attackers that were well aware of the fact that residents were unarmed, began shooting most of the people that came into their sight as they entered the area and delivered coups de grace. They handcuffed some of the people, collected them at one point, and opened machine gun fire on them and then delivered coups de grace.
9. The attacking force carried factory made plastic explosives with timers as well as various grenades. They exploded many vehicles, containers, water tankers and doors to rooms. On their way out of the area, the criminals exploded and set fire to many rooms, some trailers, several lift trucks, several fuel tankers and reefers, and eight Toyota land cruisers. Explosives failed to detonate in some rooms and vehicles and remain unexploded in those places.
10. To prepare for this criminal attack, government of Iraq cut off Ashraf’s water and electricity three weeks prior to the attack. They planned to force the residents to gather in a limited area in order to save water and electricity to simplify the plan of massacre. However, due to extensive international protests they were forced to retreat.
11. Statements on Sunday after this bloody massacre from Iraqi security officials and the IRGC and the mullahs’ intelligence minister leave no doubt about the involvement of Iraqi government authorities of the highest ranks and their coordination with the terrorist Qods Force. On September 1, CNN television network reported “Two officials with Iraq’s Interior Ministry told CNN that security forces raided Camp Ashraf after their base was hit by mortar rounds. The officials said there were casualties from the raid, but they said they could provide no further details. .” Reuters reported on that same day, quoting “two Iraqi security sources”: “The army and special forces had opened fire on residents.” Reuters added: “These security sources …believed residents were not armed’’.
12. On September 1, Intelligence Ministry’s news agency (Mehr) quoted the intelligence minister after the cabinet meeting: “There is this possibility that in this case government of Iraq has been forced to confront the terrorists that resided in Ashraf Base.” IRGC also wrote in its statement: “The sturdy children of Iraqi martyred Mojaheds, in a revolutionary act, took their historic revenge on the PMOI.” New agency of the Qods Force (Tasnim) wrote: “The popular movement of children of Shabania Uprising” assumed responsibility for the attack on Ashraf.
Given the abovementioned facts, the Iranian Resistance calls on the U.S. government and the United Nations, especially the Security Council, to form an international fact-finding committee to identify the perpetrators of this great crime and to bring them to justice without any interference from government of Iraq as the main culprit.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
September 2, 2013