March 16, 2018
Bahrain says it has rounded up 116 members of an armed network established by Iran’s Pasdaran and suspected of plotting attacks on Bahraini officials.
The Interior Ministry said investigators found sites used by the militants to manufacture and store explosives intended to be used for “terrorist attacks.”
Bahrain put down Arab Spring protests six years ago led by majority Shiites demanding reforms, but the kingdom has since faced bomb attacks by militants.
Bahrain has stepped up a crackdown on dissent since 2016, shuttering the main opposition parties, jailing or stripping citizenship from prominent dissidents and putting the top Shiite spiritual leader under de facto house arrest.
“The network was planning to target Bahraini officials, members of the security authorities and vital oil installations, with the objective of disturbing public security and harming the national economy,” it said.
The statement said 48 of the 116 people arrested had received training at Pasdar facilities in Iran and their affiliated locations in Iraq and Lebanon.
