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Bahrain criticizes Iranian media for glorifying jail break

Xinhua, January 3, 2017 Adjust font size:

Bahrain's Interior Ministry criticized Iran's Ahl Al Bait channel on Monday for describing a group of Bahrain's prison breakers as heroes.

Armed militants raided Bahrain's Jaw Prison on Sunday morning, freeing 10 inmates jailed for terror-related crimes and killing a policeman.

"The channel gloated over the death of the fallen serviceman while performing his duty, describing the runaway terrorist elements as 'champions seeking freedom'," said the ministry.

"This represents an additional evidence of the Iranian direct support for the terror acts and reflects at the same time an Iranian persistence to interfere in the internal affairs of Bahrain," it added.

In a weekly cabinet meeting on Monday, Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa ordered an immediate probe into the incident.

Abdullatif Al Zayani, the secretary general of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, denounced Monday the armed attack, calling it a "heinous terrorist act."

Jaw Prison is the largest prison in Bahrain, housing more than 2,400 inmates, including 1,000 convicted of rioting and terror-related offences. Endit