Bahrain Uncovers 'Terrorist Cell' Linked to Hizbullah, Iran
Bahrain announced on Wednesday that it has discovered a “terrorist cell” linked to Hizbullah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, reported al-Arabiya television.
It said that the cell was plotting to carry out bombings in the country.
The cell was headed by twins Ali and Mohammed Fakhrwari, it continued.
Bahrain News Agency said that Ali Fakhrawi and two others had traveled to Iran and Lebanon at the end of 2011 to demand financial aid from Tehran and Hizbullah.
“They met in Beirut's southern suburbs of Dahieh with Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and his deputy Sheikh Naim Qassem, where they proposed to them the idea of 'reviving' an Islamic movement,” it added.
“They requested financial assistance to carry out their terrorist activity in Bahrain and they received encouragement from Nasrallah, who also gave them 20,000 dollars for their cause,” said the news agency.
“Ali Fakhrawi traveled in mid-2015 to Iran, where he met members of the revolutionary guards, and later Lebanon where he met Qassem, who provided further support to his organization and other related terrorist groups,” it reported.
The head of the cell is a fugitive residing in Iran, while Bahraini authorities succeeded in arresting six of its members, said al-Arabiya.
Hizbullah and Bahrain's relation has witnessed tension since the beginning of a 2011 uprising in the kingdom as the party became a strong advocate of the popular protests.
Ties between Lebanon and Bahrain reached an all-time low in 2011 when Nasrallah slammed the crackdown on the protesters.
His remarks prompted the Bahraini authorities to suspend the flights of Gulf Air and Bahraini Air between Manama and Beirut for several months.
Tensions between Hizbullah and Bahrain continued through 2015 with the Gulf Cooperation Council condemning in January 2015 Nasrallah remarks on the country as “incitement to violence and discord.”
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