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| Arabia |
| Bahrain expands on accusations against Shiites |
| 2008-12-30 |
| Men arrested this month on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks in Bahrain learned bomb-making in Syria last summer from two Bahrainis based in Britain, the interior minister said on Saturday. "The suspects went to Syria with a group of [Shiite] pilgrims during the summer, pretending to want to visit holy sites," Sheikh Rashed bin Abdullah al-Khalifa told a news conference. Shiite majority Bahrain is ruled by a Sunni monarchy. "On their arrival they met a Bahraini living in London who prepared an intensive training program on bomb-making, how to use the bombs and how to booby-trap cars," Sheikh Rashed said. The people who had come from Bahrain trained in Syria in July and August, he said. The instructors who had come from Britain "were planning to bring large quantities of weapons into Bahrain to use in acts of violence and terror," Sheikh Rashed said. He said he has raised the matter with the Syrian authorities and the two countries will try to prevent Bahrainis who go to Syria being "mixed up in illegal activities." The minister added that he has alerted British authorities to "the activities of Bahrainis living in Britain who are threatening security in Bahrain." |
| Posted by:Fred |