18 get life term, 15 years for 8 others

Manama : The High Criminal Court has convicted 26 men for forming a terrorist group named ‘Shabab Al Duraz’ (Duraz Youth) which carried out several bombings and terror attacks.

The Court sentenced 18 to life in prison, while the remaining eight were sentenced to 15 years behind bars. All of them have been stripped off the Bahraini nationality except one who is not a Bahraini national. The foreigner has been ordered to be expelled once he completes his jail term. The accused reportedly carried out their attack between 2011 and 2013. 

According to court files, improvised bombs were made by the fifth defendant. It’s said that he once planted a bomb on a highway but it failed to go off. 

 The sixth, seventh and ninth accused contacted him and received another bomb which they hid between concrete blocks, which exploded, causing injuries to two police officers.   

On September 18, 2013, the accused participated in a riot, where they lured police officers into the area, where they attacked them with firebombs and improvised guns. An officer got wounded during the attack. The defendants were charged on grounds of detonating improvised bombs, targeting police officers and taking part in riots.