Bahraini terror suspects have links with Iran

Five suspects arrested for planning terror attacks on targets in Bahrain had links with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps and paramilitary Basij forces, the Bahraini public prosecution said Sunday. "Terrorism was one of the means of the cell to achieve its purposes and its members joined the group despite knowing its goals and spying for the interests of foreign countries to commit aggressive attacks against the Kingdom of Bahrain," said Osama Al Uffi, spokesperson of the public prosecution. The public prosecution is handling a terror cell targeting vital establishments and individuals including the Saudi embassy in Bahrain, the King Fahad Causeway that links the island with Saudi Arabia, and the Interior Ministry building in Manama. He said at a press conference that investigations based on the confessions of some of the suspects revealed that Abdulraof Al Shayeb and Ali Mushaima, who are living aboard, formed the terror group with the purpose to carry out terror acts inside Bahrain. "They have coordinated with foreign military bodies including Revolutionary Guards and Basij forces in Iran to train the cell's members in the use of firearms and explosives to implement their plans," he said. Investigations also revealed that leaders of the cell had already started to execute the plans by sending their members in batches to Iran to receive military training. The spokesman added that the public prosecution had ordered to remand the suspects in custody for 60 days, while the investigation is still going on to collect evidences and examine confiscated items. "We are coordinating with foreign security bodies to press charges against the mastermind of this terror plot. At the moment, we cannot reveal details of additional arrests," he said. The suspects were arrested by the Qatari authority on their way to receive training and were handed over to Bahrain on Nov. 4. Bahrain has been in turmoil since one of its worst riots broke out in February. The unrest has claimed the lives of over 40 people and caused fatal injuries among the policemen. The Bahraini government announced in March a State of National Safety, a quasi-emergency law that was later lifted in July. The Peninsula Shield Force, the Gulf nations' joint military force, entered Bahrain through the King Fahad Causeway to quell the protests.