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EU asks US to delist MKO terror group

The European Parliament has urged the United States to remove the terrorist group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from its terror list.

The European Parliament issued a declaration on Thursday urging the removal of the MKO from Washington’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The European Union removed the MKO from its similar list of terrorist organizations in 2009.

The MKO, which has been on the US terror list since 1997, filed a petition against the blacklisting in 2008.

The administration of former US president George W. Bush rejected the request in its final days in 2009, after examining material submitted by the group and US intelligence agencies, including classified information.

In July, a US federal appeals court ordered the US State Department to reconsider its decision.

The State Department said it would study the decision, but added that the US government continues to view the group as a terrorist organization.

The Iraq-based group is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community and is responsible for numerous acts of terror and violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.

The MKO is also known to have cooperated with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and the massacre of Iraqi Kurds.

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