The Bahrain police have arrested leading members of ‘February 14’, a clandestine cyber-group linked to Iran.

“After an extensive investigation, several members of the February 14 terrorist organisation were identified and the main actors who took part in criminal acts have been arrested,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The kingdom accused Lebanon’s militant group Hezbollah and some Iraqis of interfering in its internal affairs and inciting disturbances in the kingdom which started more than two years ago. Investigations have revealed that the blasts in Bahrain had similiarty to those in Iraq.

According to the statement, the February 14 organisation was created in the aftermath of incidents in Bahrain in February 2011. The group is headed by leaders from inside and outside Bahrain. The group’s main leader is Hadi Al Mudaressi, a leading cleric living in the Iraqi city of Karbala. Al Mudaressi provided divisive sectarian support to the organisation, the ministry said.

It named 11 of those arrested, saying they had played prominent roles in the group inside Bahrain. They were wanted in violence and terrorism cases, including car blasts and arson attacks. The ministry said local members of the group mainly recruit people who coordinate with subgroups that planned and carried out bombings and transferred weapons. They also oversee media relations and select “agents to be sent abroad for training” and secure houses that shelter wanted suspects.

The ministry also named 13 people it said were leading the group from abroad, some of whom are based in London.

“They frequently travel between Iran, Iraq and Lebanon to obtain financial and moral support as well as weapons training,” the ministry said.

With inputs from AFP

shamada@khaleejtimes.com