Bahrain says foils terror plot, seizes large amount of explosives

Bahrain police said on Thursday it had seized a large quantity of explosives meant to target security forces in Bahrain and neighboring Saudi Arabia.

The seizure of the explosives, with an equivalent of 222 kg of TNT, was made in a raid on June 6 on a warehouse in a residential area in Dar Kulaib village near Manama, the Interior Ministry said.

It said the two ringleaders behind the terror plot were known to be fugitives with links to Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps.

There is no immediate comment from Tehran on the allegation. And it's not clear if the two have been arrested.

"They formed and recruited a terrorist group that targets the security of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia," the ministry said in a statement.

"This included providing military training to members, smuggling explosives and travels to Iraq and Iran to receive intensive training on how to make and use explosives and guns, as well as scuba diving skills to plant mines and explosives in the sea," the statement said.

"After notifying the Public Prosecution, the crime scene and forensic lab teams moved to the location and removed the items from a hidden area behind the wall of a room in the house," it said. "Analysis and comparison of lab results from previous cases pointed to Iran and Iraq as the source of the materials."

Earlier Thursday, Interior Minister Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa briefed lawmakers in a meeting about the operation and warned that trained militias were using Bahrain as a platform to carry out terror attacks in neighboring countries.

Police chief Tariq Al Hassan, who were also at the meeting, said fugitives were being hunted down in cooperation with Interpol. Enditem

MANAMA, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Bahrain police said on Thursday it had seized a large quantity of explosives meant to target security forces in Bahrain and neighboring Saudi Arabia.

The seizure of the explosives, with an equivalent of 222 kg of TNT, was made in a raid on June 6 on a warehouse in a residential area in Dar Kulaib village near Manama, the Interior Ministry said.

It said the two ringleaders behind the terror plot were known to be fugitives with links to Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps.

There is no immediate comment from Tehran on the allegation. And it's not clear if the two have been arrested.

"They formed and recruited a terrorist group that targets the security of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia," the ministry said in a statement.

"This included providing military training to members, smuggling explosives and travels to Iraq and Iran to receive intensive training on how to make and use explosives and guns, as well as scuba diving skills to plant mines and explosives in the sea," the statement said.

"After notifying the Public Prosecution, the crime scene and forensic lab teams moved to the location and removed the items from a hidden area behind the wall of a room in the house," it said. "Analysis and comparison of lab results from previous cases pointed to Iran and Iraq as the source of the materials."

Earlier Thursday, Interior Minister Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa briefed lawmakers in a meeting about the operation and warned that trained militias were using Bahrain as a platform to carry out terror attacks in neighboring countries.

Police chief Tariq Al Hassan, who were also at the meeting, said fugitives were being hunted down in cooperation with Interpol. Endit