Iraq urged to fire MKO members

An Iraqi security official has urged the government to fire members of the notorious terrorist group Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) from the country.

The MKO is funding armed groups to cause chaos and disorder in central Diyala province, said Ahmed al-Zarkushi, the mayor of Saadiyah district in Diyala, Mehr news agency reported.

The mayor further pointed out that the terrorist group has been using Iraq’s wealth more than the Iraqi people.

The Iraq-based MKO is listed as a terrorist group by much of the international community.

Founded in the 1960s, the MKO has masterminded a slew of terrorist operations in Iran and Iraq, killing thousands of people and wounding many more.

The group is especially notorious in Iran for having sided with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

Following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, US troops disarmed the MKO terrorists at Iraq’s Camp Ashraf, where they were based, and surrounded it until Iraqi forces took over responsibility for the camp in 2009.