Bahrain busts 14-member murder cell

Bahrain on Monday alleged a 14-member group backed by Iran planned assassinations in the kingdom.

The Interior Ministry issued a statement on Monday saying 11 members of the group "are suspected of receiving overseas military training under the supervision of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah in Iraq".

It says police had arrested 14 suspects in raids that saw officers seize weapons and explosives. The Iranian government called the allegation a "futile and baseless lie".

Bahrain state news agency BNA reported that the cell was working under direct supervision from two exiled Bahrainis living in Iran, one of them recently designated by the United States as a "global terrorist".

Tensions have been rising in the kingdom since last year after authorities banned the main opposition group Al Wefaq, arresting a leading activist.

BNA said six of the arrested received military training in camps under Iranian Revolutionary Guard supervision, five had been trained by the Iraqi Hezbollah group and three received training in Bahrain. They are suspected of a bomb attack on a bus in February that injured five police officers, the agency said.

It said material seized from the homes of the suspects included weapons, locally-made explosives and communication equipment.

The statement said the cell was being financed and directed from Iran by Qassim Abdullah Ali and Mortada Majid Al Sanadi.

The US State Department in March labelled Al Sanadi and another Bahraini identified as Ahmad Hasan Yusuf as "specially designated global terrorists". - Reuters, AP, AFP

Earlier this month, Bahrain announced it had uncovered a group comprising 54 members suspected of involvement in attacks on security forces, including organising a prison break in January, and seizing automatic weapons.

On February 22, Manama announced the arrest of 20 people, including four women, in an operation aimed at dismantling "terrorist cells".

Police said they were accused of planning attacks, helping fugitives and "receiving military training in Iran and Iraq".

Bahrain in February executed three men convicted in the death of three policemen, including an Emirati officer, in a 2014 bomb attack.

Bahrain accuses Iran of being behind bomb attacks targeting security services and fomenting protests. Iran denies interfering in the kingdon, although it acknowledges support for opposition groups seeking greater rights.

At the beginning of March, parliament voted unanimously to grant military courts the right to try civilians charged with any act of "terrorism". - Reuters, AP, AFP