Bombing of water supply pumping station by Qods Force, a war crime under international conventions

Iranian Resistance calls for prosecution of those who planned and perpetrated the criminal act
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
Friday, 08 February 2008

NCRI - This morning, the terrorist agents of the Iranian regime's Revolutionary Guard Corps - Qods Force bombed the water supply pumping station which provided water to Ashraf City, home to members of People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) in northeastern Baghdad.

The incident took place at 3:30 am local time. The pumping station also supplied water to areas 25 km to the west of Ashraf according to information received.

More than 300 kg of TNT was used in this terrorist bombing and as a result huge water pumps, installations of the station and offices were destroyed and supply of water to Ashraf and areas in the vicinity were cut off.

Two days ago, a member of the local tribal council, Sheikh Hamid Ziab, in charge of the local security and protection of the pumping station, was assassinated in a terrorist attack. The tribal council blamed the Qods Force for this crime.

The pumping station has been under the protection of local residents and tribes in recent years and for the past few months the newly formed "Awakening Councils" have been protecting it.

As cutting off and bombing water supply stations and pipelines are considered as war crimes against protected persons and local residents, according to the Geneva Convention, the Iranian Resistance calls on Multi-National Force – Iraq, International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations and in particular the government of Iraq to conduct an urgent investigation into this terrorist crime and prosecute those who planned and perpetrated the attack.

The mullahs' regime has recently dispatched a number of agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and Qods Force to Iraq to conspire against the residents of Ashraf City. They have been staying in Baghdad's Al-Mansur Hotel. This is a clear indication of the regime's ongoing plots against Ashraf residents.

The water supply pumping station has belonged to the PMOI for the past 22 years and in addition to Ashraf it also provided over 20,000 local farmers and residents with water. The station also supplied part of drinking water of Azim Township in the vicinity.

In summer of 2006, mercenaries of the clerical regime bombed twice the water pipelines of Ashraf close to this pumping station. They were rapidly repaired with the help of local residents and people of Ashraf.

Under the pressures of the Iranian regime and its agents within the Iraqi government, supply of medicine, food and fuel to Ashraf have been barred since 2005 in violation of international conventions. The situation prevails despite protests by international bodies such as the European Parliament and the United Nations.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
February 8, 2008