Bahrain police arrest 5 over ‘terror attacks’

Bahraini police said yesterday they had arrested five of a group of 20 people wanted over “terror attacks”, including for alleged bombings and causing harm to civilians and security personnel. The five were identified as Hasan al-Muallem, Ibrahim Ali, Ali Abbas al-Asfur, Ibrahim Mohammed al-Asfur and Hussein Zaed, in a statement to BNA state news agency by General Tareq Hasan, the head of General Security. Security forces “arrested five of those accused of terror crimes which included making and detonating bombs, and carrying out criminal acts that resulted in wounding civilians and police,” he was quoted as saying, without indicating when the arrests were made. Hasan said police had circulated photographs of the wanted men through the media, which had facilitated their capture. The detainees, who appear to be from the Shiite majority, have been referred to the public prosecution while police hunt for the other fugitives, Hasan said in the statement, which did not provide any details of the attacks. Bahraini authorities accuse Shiite youth protesters of using petrol bombs against security forces during frequent demonstrations in villages outside the capital Manama. Sporadic and small demonstrations have intensified in the villages since a brutal crackdown in March 2011 ended month-long protests in Manama’s main Pearl Square demanding democratic reforms in the Gulf kingdom ruled by the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty. Human rights watchdog Amnesty International says 60 people have been killed since the protests first erupted in February last year.