Bahrain claims it stopped ‘terrorist attack’ backed by Iran in early 2020

Bahrain, on September 20, confirmed that it broke up a plot by militants that was backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps earlier this year. The statement by Bahrain’s interior ministry comes after a Saudi state television Al-Ekhbariya and Bahrain’s local media outlet Akhbar Al-Khaleej reported that ministry’s investigation found that a new group called the ‘Qassem Soleimani Brigade’ had planned to attack diplomats and foreigners in the island nation. 

Bahrain ministry, in a statement, said that they want to make it clear that the case goes back to early 2020 and it is currently being looked into by the relevant court. The officials clarified and said that the cases dated to the start of the year and is ‘not new’. 

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Militant attack plot 

Bahrain government officials have routinely claimed to break up plots by militants backed by Iran. The details of the latest plot became public as the Saudi state TV aired footage of what happened to be police raiding a home with a hidden passage. According to AP, the clip showed assault rifles and explosives, which were apparently seized in the raid. The Saudi media outlet said that those planning the attacks wanted to carry them out in revenge for the US killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani this January in a drone strike in Baghdad. 

As per reports, nine militants were arrested, while another nine are still believed to be in Iran. Bahrain officials had uncovered the plot after finding an explosive on the street which was believed to have been planted to target a foreign delegation. The Interior Ministry accused the Guard of supporting the militants, who also surveilled oil sites and military bases. The militants further also planned on assassinating bodyguards of Bahrain officials, the ministry said. 

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The latest report comes just days after the island kingdom normalised relations with Israel. The country is home to the 5th fleet, which patrols the waterways of the Mideast. Bahrain officials have been worried in the past that the sailors and Marines attached to the base in Manama could be targeted, as well as others who make up tp 7,000 American troops there. 

The island kingdoms have often accused the Shitte Muslim Iran of seeking to subvert the kingdom, which has a Shitte majority and is ruled by Sunnis. Bahrain was also the only Gulf Arab state to witness sizeable pro-democracy uprising in the 2011 ‘Arab Spring’, from a largely Shitte opposition movement, which it quashed with Saudi and Emirati help. However, it was reported that since 2016, militant groups have launched small, sporadic attacks repeatedly. 

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READ: Saudi State TV Says Bahrain Stops Militants Planning Attacks