Manama: Bahrain’s government has paid tribute to the security authorities in the kingdom, lauding their capability “to confront firmly and resolutely any hostile act of terrorism”.
Chairing the weekly cabinet session, Prime Minister Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa “expressed appreciation and gratitude to the Ministry of Interior for its continued vigilance and on-going security operations, which recently resulted in the arrest of 47 terror suspects who planned to carry out terror attacks in the Kingdom”. “The Cabinet stressed that those who commit such crimes have no place in civilised society, and that all sections of Bahraini society reject their actions. The Interior Minister, Lieutenant-General Shaikh Rashid Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, provided the Cabinet with a security briefing in which he highlighted the details and circumstances of the arrests,” a statement following the cabinet session on Sunday said.
Last week, Bahrain said that a counter-terrorism operation conducted by its security authorities has resulted in the identification of a terrorist network and the arrest of 47 suspects.
The authorities said the arrests disrupted a number of sizable terrorist attacks planned for the near future.
“A range of high-grade explosives, bomb making materials and weapons were seized from several locations within populated residential areas. In addition to the materials seized, a bomb-making facility and an explosives laboratory were discovered,” the interior ministry said on Wednesday.
“Among the seizures were homemade bombs and raw bomb-making materials, including C4, TATP, Urea Nitrate, and Nitro Cellulose. Ammunition and anti-personnel bomb moulds were also seized along with partially constructed armour-piercing explosive devices. The investigation and several surveillance operations have revealed that, as with previous terrorist incidents in 2015, the suspects arrested hold strong connections with terrorist organisations in Iran,” the ministry said.
Officials said that “over the past six months multiple seizures of explosives, homemade IEDs, bomb-manufacturing equipment and caches of arms and ammunition have been directly linked to Iranian-backed extremists who intended to use the materials in terror attacks in Bahrain.”
In the statement, the interior ministry said the police would “remain vigilant for any security threats and that no effort will be spared in protecting the Kingdom’s citizens”.
“Iranian-sponsored violence that seeks to harm progress and dialogue will not deter the Kingdom’s pursuit of long-term political and economic development,” the ministry said.
