Bahrain says it has arrested members of a 'terrorist group linked to Iran'

The Bahraini Ministry of Interior stated in a statement that it has arrested members of a 'terrorist group' suspected of involvement in 'an attack on a police bus' last Esfand. Bahrain claims that members of this group are connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran. According to the Bahraini police announcement, '14 members' of this group have been arrested, and according to the country's Ministry of Interior, 11 of them are suspected of having been trained under the supervision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the 'Kata'ib Hezbollah' group of Iraq. Reports indicate that the 'Kata'ib Hezbollah' group of Iraq (Hezbollah Brigades of Iraq) was formed in 2003 and is itself under the supervision of Hezbollah Lebanon, engaged in 'training and equipping' several other militia groups. Bahrain claims that two of the 'leaders' of the group whose members have been arrested reside in Iran. One of the mentioned individuals has recently been placed on the 'terrorist list' of the United States. According to this country, six of the detainees were trained in a camp supervised by the Revolutionary Guard, five others under the supervision of the Kata'ib Hezbollah group of Iraq, and three others were trained in Bahrain itself. The Bahraini Ministry of Interior has accused the detainees of being involved in a bomb explosion next to a bus carrying police forces, which injured five police officers in early Esfand. This is not the first time Bahrain has reported arrests or 'neutralizing' actions of individuals or groups linked to Iran. For example, on March 6, it also issued a statement about the arrest of 25 individuals described as 'members of a terrorist group supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran.' At that time, the Bahraini government stated that 'a group of 54 people' had gone to 'Iran and Iraq to receive training at Revolutionary Guard bases.' Iranian officials, including the Supreme Leader, have always emphasized that they are not indifferent to events in Bahrain but deny interference in the internal affairs of that country. The Iranian government has not yet reacted to the recent statement. Bahrain has suppressed the activities of a major opposition group in the country called 'Al-Wefaq', accusing them of 'encouraging violence and holding illegal demonstrations and sit-ins'; the majority of Bahrain's population is Shia, but the ruling monarchy is in the hands of a Sunni family. In the annual list published by 'Freedom House', both Bahrain and Iran are ranked at the bottom, alongside countries like Saudi Arabia or Syria, considered 'unfree' in terms of political and civil rights as well as press and speech freedoms.