A TERRORIST group that authorities say was founded by one of three men executed in Bahrain yesterday has claimed responsibility for the shooting of a policeman in Bani Jamra on Saturday night.
Sources told the GDN the officer was in a stable condition yesterday, despite being hit by live rounds fired at his patrol vehicle in an apparent revenge attack instigated from the UK.
Outlawed terrorist group Saraya Al Ashtar has claimed responsibility for the attack, describing it as a “heroic operation” that pre-empted yesterday’s executions.
Its members are believed to receive backing from Iran, having allegedly undergone weapons training with Hizbollah in Iraq.
Action
Saturday’s attack on a police patrol happened soon after fugitive Ali Mushaima, who is at large in the UK despite being convicted of seeking to overthrow the Bahraini government, posted a statement online inciting such action.
He is understood to be related to one of the three men executed yesterday and, in an online statement on Saturday, called for “an eye for an eye” - warning of revenge attacks against Bahrain’s security forces hours before the shooting of the policeman.
Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society secretary general Faisal Fulad responded yesterday by accusing the UK of harbouring criminals and demanding British authorities take action.
“The UK government must launch an investigation against this person for inciting violence and not harbour such criminals,” said Mr Fulad.
Following yesterday’s (jan 15) executions there was heightened security across Bahrain, as thugs sought to create disorder by setting up illegal roadblocks in villages, tipping over rubbish bins, strewing debris across roads and damaging public property.
Black smoke was also seen rising from Sitra, Tubli, Abu Saiba and Jidhafs as yobs torched rubbish and tyres.
Businesses in some areas remained closed as a result, while police set up checkpoints in Sitra, Janabiya, Sehla, Daih, Duraz, on Budaiya Highway and other locations.
“A group of people from the village informed us not to open our shops for the next three days without mentioning any reason,” said Bangladeshi Noorudin Fazal, who runs a cold store in Barbar.
“In the past we have received such warnings because of these protests and road blocks in the area.”
Channels
Images of masked thugs hurling firebombs at police were also circulated through web channels operated by radical groups.
The GDN previously reported that Saraya Al Ashtar ringleaders operated in Iran, Iraq and India, orchestrating attacks on police in different areas of Bahrain including Sanabis, Meqsha, Duraz and Hamad Town.
Ten people were sentenced to life in prison last year for being part of the terror cell, while two others were jailed for 10 years and all had their citizenships revoked.
The group was formed in 2012, allegedly with funding from Iran and training that focused on the use of C4 and TNT explosives, how to conduct abductions, dismantling and installation of arms and the use of mortars and detonators
It has been credited with a large number of attacks including detonating a homemade bomb outside Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre, in Sanabis, on June 17, 2013; a car blast at Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa Mosque, in Riffa, on the same day and an explosion in Bani Jamra on May 28, 2013 in which seven policemen were injured.
Damage
It was also said to have remotely detonated a bomb near a mosque in Sanabis in 2014; planted explosive devices in Duraz and Budaiya on February 24, 2014; bombed a police bus in Budaiya on February 14, 2014; caused an explosion in A’ali that damaged a vehicle and Ramli Mall shop on October 4, 2015; detonated a bomb in Barbar that damaged a car, a public bus and a police vehicle on April 10, 2015; carried out an explosion during a riot in Shakhura on April 23, 2015; and planned a bombing that injured a police officer in Meqsha on April 12, 2015.
The terrorist cell was believed to have been dismantled in June 2015.
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