Bahrain Reports Arrest of Five Suspects in Bombing Linked to Iran

Bahrain has arrested five individuals as suspects in a recent bombing in the country, stating that the detainees are connected to the Quds Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Hezbollah of Lebanon. According to a report by AFP on Thursday, August 22, Police Chief Tariq Al-Hassan stated that the arrested individuals are linked not only to the recent bombing but also to 'other terrorist incidents in recent years' in this Gulf country. The explosion, which occurred on Tuesday, August 6, in the Shia-majority village of Sitra, south of the capital Bahrain and in front of a girls' school, resulted in the deaths of two police officers and injuries to six others. The Bahraini state news agency claimed at that time that the explosives used in the bombing were similar to those previously 'smuggled from Iran' but had been seized by the country's security forces. One of the suspects arrested by Bahrain has been identified as Mohammed Al-Tawq, 24 years old, who, according to the police, was responsible for planting and detonating the bomb. The Bahraini Ministry of Interior stated that Mohammed Al-Tawq is also suspected of involvement in another 'terrorist' explosion in 2013 and had spent some time in Iran afterward. He is also accused of having been trained by Hezbollah. The police chief of Bahrain stated that this incident is 'another worrying event that Iran is committing to influence the stability and security of Bahrain.' Bahrain, a small and sparsely populated country in the southern Gulf, has faced widespread political and security unrest over the past four years. The majority of the country is Shia, while its rulers are Sunni. During this time, the Kingdom of Bahrain has repeatedly accused the Islamic Republic of Iran of inciting the Shia population against it, while Tehran has consistently denied these accusations.