US set to remove 5 groups from foreign terrorism blacklist

BERLIN (AP) – The United States is poised to remove five extremist groups, all believed to be defunct, from its list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Several of these groups once posed significant threats, killing hundreds if not thousands of people across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Although the groups are inactive, the decision is politically sensitive for the Biden administration and the countries in which the organizations operated, and could draw criticism from victims and their families still dealing with the losses of loved ones.

The organizations include the Basque separatist group ETA , the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo, the radical Jewish group Kahane Kach and two Islamic groups that have been active in Israel, the Palestinian territories and Egypt.