Three Killed In Clashes Between Iraqi Forces, Exiled Iranian Group

A camp resident gives the victory sign after clashes with Iraqi security forces at Camp Ashraf on April 8.

Iraqi forces have clashed with a settlement of Iranian opposition exiles in an offensive that reportedly left at least three people dead.

The violence took place at Camp Ashraf, a settlement near Iraq's border with Iran -- home to some 3,500 members of the banned left-wing Islamic group Mujahedin Khalq Organization, aka People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran.

Camp residents described the attack as a "massacre."

YouTube videos said to have been taken of the violence, meanwhile, are circulating online.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has long tried to expel the camp's occupants, who were disarmed by U.S. forces after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

compiled from agency reports