Iran in attack mode

Manama : An international  human rights group yesterday issued a threat alert about a possible terrorist attack on Bahrain citing calls made by Iran to destabilise the Kingdom’s security during the upcoming national celebrations. 

“Iranian-backed terrorist groups in Bahrain have spread calls inciting violence and terrorism as the Kingdom celebrates the National Action Charter (NAC) Anniversary on February 14,” the Gulf European Centre for Human Rights (GECHR) said in a statement.

“Radical and terrorist groups with fake names have made these calls,” the society stated, confirming that some of the groups are based in Iran, Lebanon and the UK.

The statement mentioned that the groups called upon Bahrainis to use weapons such as Molotov cocktails, grenades and Kalashnikov rifles against security forces.  

The centre condemned making such calls for violence and terrorism under the cover of civil movements, accusing Tehran for supporting such groups.

“Such calls risk the lives of people and would have dangerous effects on democracy and reformations of the Kingdom,” BECHR said.

It confirmed that a committee to detect such violations was recently formed in cooperation with Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society (BHRWS).

The centre added that the committee will issue reports and statements on the violations and submit it to local and international media and  international rights groups, to reflect this “dangerous exploitation of citizens’ right of organising peaceful public demonstrations”.

DT News obtained one of the posters available online calling for acts of violence. They were issued by terrorists and banned groups including  Al Ashtar Brigades, a radical group responsible for the murder of Bahraini off-duty police officer, First Lieutenant Hisham Al Hammadi on January 29.

Three members of the group were executed by the Kingdom on January 15 for the killing of an Emirati police officer and two policemen in 2014.

According to the testimonies of members of the group who were arrested, they were trained on carrying out attacks against security forces and explosives’ by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah terrorist organisation in Iraq and Lebanon.