At least 10 Iranians killed in clashes with Iraqi forces

  At least 10 Iranian exiles were killed in Iraq Friday,

a hospital source said, after security forces clashed with residents of an Iranian dissident camp north of Baghdad overnight.. An Iraqi government spokesman said five members of the Iraqi security forces were wounded in the incident at Camp Ashraf, at which he said residents pelted security forces with rocks.Representatives of the camp said 31 residents were killed and 300 wounded in what they called a “criminal attack.”

“There are 10 bodies of Iranians and 40 people wounded in the hospital, most of them killed or wounded by bullets,” a medical source at nearby Baquba hospital said. He requested anonymity since he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Ali al-Moussawi, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s media adviser, said clashes broke out after government forces tried to reclaim land from camp residents and return it to the farmers who owned it.“The forces tried yesterday … to give back these lands … They [Ashraf residents] objected to that, and clashes erupted. They assaulted the security forces, which led to a number of the residents and security personnel being injured,” he said.

Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged the Iraqi government to show restraint. “We’re very concerned with reports of deaths and injuries resulting from this morning’s clashes … I urge the Iraqi government to show restraint and to live up to its commitments to treat residents of Ashraf according to Iraqi law and their international obligations,” he said.