05 March 2017•Update: 06 March 2017
ISTANBUL
Bahrain said Saturday it had uncovered a 54-member terrorist cell suspected of involvement in attacks in the Gulf country.
Chief prosecutor Ahmed al-Hammadi said 25 members of the cell had been arrested, according to the official Bahraini News Agency.
He said the cell was involved in a prison break in south-eastern Bahrain in January, when gunmen attacked the Jau prison near Manama, helping ten terror suspects to escape.
The chief prosecutor said an investigation into the prison break revealed that a Germany-based militant had helped organize trips for the cell’s members to Iran and Iraq for training.
“The investigation revealed that...several members (were sent) to Iran and Iraq to train on the use of explosives and automatic weapons in (Iranian) Revolutionary Guards camps to prepare them to carry out terrorist acts in the country,” he said.
Al-Hammadi said the cell was responsible for the killing of a police officer in late January.
“Twenty-five members of the cell, who were involved in a number of terrorist crimes, were detained,” he said, adding that explosives, bombs and Kalashnikov rifles had been seized from the militants.
Last month, Bahraini authorities said 20 people suspected of involvement in “terrorist” activity had been arrested.
Bahrain was rocked by revolt in 2011, when pro-democracy protests erupted in the tiny Gulf state as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings.
The Sunni-led government blames Al-Wefaq, Bahrain’s largest opposition movement, for the upheaval, accusing the Shia party of pursuing an "Iranian agenda".
Al-Wefaq, for its part, denies the allegations, saying it wants to see the establishment of a "constitutional government" in the small Gulf kingdom.
Reporting by Ahmad al-Masri:Writing by Ali H. M.Abo Rezeg
