Cairo, March 30 (IANS): Egypt's prosecutor general on Sunday listed 18 leading members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, including its chief, as terrorists, Xinhua reported citing Egypt's official MENA news agency.

The list determined by Prosecutor General Hesham Barakat included the chief Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie, his deputy and business tycoon Kahirat al-Shater, former parliament speaker Mohamed Saad al-Katatni and former youth and sports minister Osama Yassin.

Following the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by the military in July 2013 after mass protests against his one-year rule, the army-backed government launched a massive crackdown on his loyalists that left over 1,000 killed and thousands others arrested.

As self-proclaimed Islamists launched anti-government attacks, killing hundreds of police and army men since Morsi's removal, the new leadership in Egypt branded the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group and arrested most of its members, including Morsi, who could not flee the country.

The prosecutor's decision was based on the Terrorist Entity Law, signed earlier this year by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.

According to the law, the general prosecution could ask a criminal court to list suspects as terrorists and start their trial. The law also stipulates that any group designated as “terrorist” will be dissolved and its assets frozen.

Earlier this month, an Egyptian court awarded the death sentence to Badie, and 13 other members of the Muslim Brotherhood over violence charges.