The camp in eastern Iraq houses Iranians dedicated to the overthrow of the Iranian government. Members of the group won refuge at Ashraf decades ago during the regime of Saddam Hussein, who saw them as a convenient ally against Tehran.

Since Saddam’s fall in 2003, the exiles have become an irritant to Iraq’s Shiite-led government, which is trying to bolster ties with Iran. A deadly April raid on the camp by Iraqi forces drew international criticism of Baghdad’s treatment of the group.

An important story-- yet many westerners are unaware of this.