JUDGES have adjourned the trial of 11 Bahrainis, who have been charged in connection with an attempted oil pipeline bombing in January.
Eight of the defendants are in custody, while three others still at large are being tried in absentia.
They are allegedly part of a terrorist cell that planted the bomb at a stretch of pipeline near Alba.
However, the blast failed to damage the pipeline, the High Criminal Court heard.
The eight in custody have pleaded not guilty to being part of an illegal group, possessing bombs and arson.
A detective who was part of the investigation said the network planned bombings at various locations, including ATM machines.
He said the network dug a secret underground bunker in which explosives, including those used in the January 12 pipeline attack, were hidden.
One of the defendants allegedly confessed to planting the device during questioning.
“We monitored the oil pipeline location and established a warehouse to store bombs,” he told prosecutors.
“My co-defendants helped me collect a bomb from near a tree and I set a timer for it to explode at 9pm.
“I connected the bomb to a detonator and a mobile phone.
“I then went and planted it near the oil pipeline near Alba.
“However, I later learnt that it exploded but did not damage the oil pipeline.”
The trial has been adjourned until November 17 for review.
It is not the first time terrorists have sought to disrupt Bahrain’s oil industry by targeting key infrastructure.
Confession
Five Bahrainis behind the bombing of an oil pipeline in Buri in November 2017 were sentenced to life behind bars and fined BD200,000 by the High Criminal Court in October last year.
A sixth man was sentenced to 10 years, while a seventh was sentenced to five years and fined BD100,000.
The defendants in that case were also fined an additional BD64,577 to cover the cost of damages and had their nationalities revoked.
That attack was said to have been orchestrated from Iran and targeted one of three pipelines supplying crude oil to the Bapco refinery from Saudi Aramco.
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