Manama // Bahraini authorities yesterday accused opposition leaders based in London of masterminding and training the terrorist cell that had allegedly been planning to carry out bombings during the National Day celebrations here this month.
During a press conference in Manama, Bahrain's minister of interior, Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, also said some of the 14 people arrested in the plot had received military training in Syria during July and August.
One of the suspects, who are all Bahrainis and believed to be Shiites, was turned over to the Bahraini government by Interpol from the UAE.
"They travelled under the mask of visiting religious sites in Syria where they were met by a Bahraini living in London, who arranged and carried out their intensive training programme on how to make bombs and explosives," Sheikh Rashid said. "The site of the training included others in masks undergoing training while the trainers were unmasked."
According to Sheikh Rashid, the masterminds behind the foiled plot are two Bahrainis living in London with one residing there under the umbrella of political asylum.
While he did not name the two ring leaders, sources said they are believed to be the leader of the Bahrain Freedom Movement in London and the former head of the Bahrain Martyrs and Victims of Torture Committee.
"The suspects confessed that their leadership came under the two Bahrainis who reside in Britain and that they were the ones who arranged for their recruitment and training," Sheikh Rashid said.
"They also revealed that the Bahraini leaders in Britain were planning to smuggle a large quantity of weapons to Bahrain for use in acts of violence, sabotage and terrorism to disrupt security and public order."
He said Bahrain had contacted the British and Syrian governments to ensure that their countries were not used as launching grounds for such terrorist groups.
"We informed the security services in Syria of our findings and asked them to send specialists so we could provide them with the available information and facts so they can take whatever action necessary to prevent the use of Syrian territory in the training of terrorist acts," he said.
"We also have alerted the British authorities to the seriousness of the activities by the two Bahraini suspects living in Britain, which threaten the security of Bahrain."
He called for stiffer punishments in terrorism cases and the toughening of current legislation to deter such groups and ensure security.
Hafed Ali, who is part of the defence team representing the 14 suspects, declined to comment about case.
He did, however, criticise the minister's call for tougher laws, pointing out that his clients were being charged under the recently adopted antiterror law, which has harsher punishments than the criminal code.
The announcement of the arrests in the case came just a few hours before arsonists set ablaze an electricity substation on the King Faisal motorway, one of the busiest streets in the capital and at a time when Shiite villages and capital suburbs were witnessing heavy clashes with police. No one has claimed responsibility for the power station arson and officials did not officially link it to the recently uncovered plot.
The clashes erupted after police cordoned-off a section of the city to prevent a march called for by the opposition on the day remembering alleged martyrs and victims of the unrest in the Gulf island during the early 1980s and mid 1990s.
Bahrain, a close US ally and home to its 5th Fleet Command, had also been struggling for the past few years with Sunni sympathisers who express support to the resistance groups in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Several cases have been brought forward against Bahraini Sunnis for alleged links to terrorist groups, all of which have been debunked by local courts. Two other Bahraini Sunnis are awaiting trial on charges of training with and trying to finance terrorist groups.
mmahdi@thenational.ae
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Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR
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KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.
Section 375
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat
Director: Ajay Bahl
Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL
Rating: 3.5/5
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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More on Palestine-Israeli relations
RESULT
Norway 1 Spain 1
Norway: King (90 4')
Spain: Niguez (47')
My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci
Pushkin Press
The bio
Academics: Phd in strategic management in University of Wales
Number one caps: His best-seller caps are in shades of grey, blue, black and yellow
Reading: Is immersed in books on colours to understand more about the usage of different shades
Sport: Started playing polo two years ago. Helps him relax, plus he enjoys the speed and focus
Cars: Loves exotic cars and currently drives a Bentley Bentayga
Holiday: Favourite travel destinations are London and St Tropez
MATCH INFO
Red Star Belgrade v Tottenham Hotspur, midnight (Thursday), UAE
Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
Flights: 149
Steps: 3.78 million
Calories: 220,000
Floors climbed: 2,000
Donations: GPB37,300
Prostate checks: 5
Blisters: 15
Bumps on the head: 2
Dog bites: 1
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
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