Bahrain busts terror cell, says find links with Iran, Hezbollah

Bahrain's interior ministry said on Wednesday it foiled a terror cell that is linked with Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The ministry said in an operation it busted the terror cell named "al Basta" and arrested it members, claiming that investigations have revealed linkage between the cell and leaders of the IRGC, Hezbollah.

It also said the detained were in touch with a number of individuals involved in the Sitra terrorist blast in July last year that killed two policemen and injured six others.

The "Fakhrawi brothers" were named as mastermind by Bahrain authorities who traveled to Iran at the end of 2011 to secure financial and logistic support for Al Basta.

The Ministry said the suspects traveled to Beirut in 2012, along with two others to receive financial support from Hezbollah.

"During the trip, they met the General Secretary of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah and his deputy, Naim Qassem and proposed the idea of reviving Al Wafa Islamic Movement."

"Nasrallah asked them to continue and provided them with 20,000 U.S. dollars," said the Ministry.

During meetings with the leaders of the Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah, the suspects agreed to provide periodic reports on their activities and to account for how the money they received was being spent.

"They formed the armed wing of Al Wafa Islamic Movement with the goal of disrupting the flow of daily life and hindering government operations using force and violence."

Sunni-ruled Bahrain has frequently accused Tehran of backing unrest among its Shiite population, while Iran denies its involvement, claiming it a propaganda tactic.

Bahrain earlier this week severed ties with Iran and suspended all flights, following the steps of Saudi Arabia, which executed earlier a leading Shiite cleric, a move that has caused tensions not only between Riyadh and Tehran, but in the wider Middle East. Enditem