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Iran mulling surrender of 14 terrorists

Iran Materials 23 December 2008 14:07 (UTC +04:00)

Fourteen members of a group trained and armed in a country bordering Iran have handed over their weapons and explosives and have requested forgiveness through mediators, Fars news agency has reported the deputy governor-general of the province, Jalal Sayyah, as saying.

The Iranian official did not reveal what group the terrorists are connected to, reropted Presstv.

Iran is a victim of terrorist attacks by well-funded groups, the major ones of which are Jundullah -- a Pakistan-based terrorist organization -- and the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO).

Jundullah ringleader Abdolmalek Rigi describes his network is a "national movement".

Iranian forces have inflicted heavy casualties on the group over the past three months, killing the ringleader's brother and his deputy as well as 16 other terrorists.

The MKO is an exiled cult-like organization with thousands of members that resorts to terrorism to destabilize the Iranian government.

The MKO has been blacklisted as a terrorist organization by both the United States and the European Union. It has carried out numerous attacks against civilians in the Islamic Republic and in Iraq since 1979.

After the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, reports surfaced that Washington had long employed the Iraq-based MKO in espionage and violence-related activities in the region. The US fueled speculation on the issue by bringing the MKO military training area, Camp Ashraf, under its umbrella of protection.

The Iraqi government, however, has ordered the main members of the MKO currently residing in Iraq to leave the country.

"Staying in Iraq is not an option for them," Baghdad said in a Sunday statement.

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