Revealed: Youth lured, paid BD50 to kill cops
Manama : Certain outfits paid BD50 as reward to entice Bahraini youth to kill policemen and commit acts of terror in the Kingdom, said Interior Minister Lieutenant General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa yesterday, reviewing the anti-terror operations in the Kingdom in 2017.
Displaying envelopes to the audience during a meeting held at the Interior Ministry’s Officer Club in Gudaibiya, the minister said: “BD50 were kept in each of these envelopes. For this little amount lives were lost. These were rewards for killing innocent lives and committing acts of terrorism and vandalism. It shows killing people is how cheap for terrorists. It also shows how cheap are the souls of the people who received them.”
“Terror cells busted last year had stored weapons and other materials to manufacture explosives. They were also involved in funding terrorist activities and attacks in the Kingdom,” Lt. Gen. Shaikh Rashid said.
105 operations
The minister said that the security authorities arrested 357 terrorists in 105 operations, in which large quantities of weapons and explosives were confiscated.
Speaking about the fruitful operation, Lt. Gen. Shaikh Rashid said, “This was the most important preventive security operation and it essentially achieved the arrest of 47 key terrorists. Most of them were members of three terrorist groups, Al Ashtar Brigades, Popular Resistance and Al Mukhtar Brigades. These groups were recognised by the world as terrorist organisations, after acknowledging their terrorist activities.”
The minister confirmed that the operation also resulted in the arrest of individuals wanted in previous terror crimes, as well as other intended crimes such as attempts to assassinate officials and public figures, targeting of policemen, arson, vandalism and targeting oil establishments.
He added that the arrested were referred to the Public Prosecution to be tried fairly before the court as per the instructions of the constitution, and laws and regulations of the Kingdom.
“Our security mission does not end with the uncovering of a terror group and the arrest of lawbreakers, ours is a comprehensive mission which aims to achieve security and stability across the country.
Therefore, we should have a comprehensive security viewpoint to understand the main reasons and motives that have a bearing on the general security situation,” the Minister clarified further.
At the meeting, Lt. Gen. Shaikh Rashid provided some of the latest security updates related to the Kingdom’s efforts to combat terrorism and reassured the public at the same time that the general indications at present show stability in the security situation in the Kingdom.
The Interior Minister stressed that the meeting comes within the ministry’s national, security and community partnership strategy and bolstering interaction with national, official and public organisations.
The meeting was attended by the ministry’s senior officers, governors of the Kingdom’s four governorates, public figures, religious scholars representing the different faiths and sects living in Bahrain, legislators, members of the press and notable personalities.
Role of Hezbollah
The minister’s presentation revealed the terrorist groups busted in Bahrain were part of a bigger Iran-backed plot to establish the Bahraini branch of Hezbollah terrorist organisation.
The Lt. Gen. explained that the ministry launched a comprehensive operation to gather information about the active organisations and their members, in coordination with the National Security Agency and other security agencies.
He said these efforts contributed in foiling several attacks and exposing more terrorists, who led to the same leaders abroad.
“This operation continued for several months and even as it was on, some terrorist incidents occurred such as the oil pipeline blast in Buri in November. The cells are run by individuals in Iran who coordinate with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the Popular Mobilisation Forces in Iraq and the Iraqi and Lebanese branches of Hezbollah to train terrorists,” the minister told the audience.
“These terror operations in the Kingdom are managed and run by certain individuals and their activities are not only limited to this operation but also cover previous cases as well. Those persons would be held accountable and if the countries they are living in do not cooperate with the Interpol and ignore the Red Notice or bilateral coordination, then those individuals will have no civil rights or right to stay among us. After a vigorous operation, the targets were identified and classified according to the dangers they posed. Thereafter, a security plan was put in place to target the sources of risks and threats to the homeland on the security map,” he said, displaying the photographs of the terrorists involved in various terror acts.
Security events
While the audience listened in shock, the minister shared some of the main security-related events and achievements in 2017.
He began with the jailbreak from the Rehabilitation and Reformation Centre in Jau, commonly known as Jau prison, on the first day of the year.
Ten prisoners jailed for their involvement in terror crimes escaped prison on January 1 and a policeman was killed in a shootout during the escape.
The minister made a presentation which highlighted last year’s major terrorist occurrences that resulted in the martyrdom of a number of security forces’ members. This included the assassination of First Lieutenant Hisham Al Hammadi in February, killing of policemen Abdulsamad Haji and Salman Anjam in two separate attacks on a police patrol vehicles in Diraz and Jidhafs in June and October, and the terrorist attack on an oil pipeline in Buri in November.
‘Fight sectarianism, extremism’
The identity of Bahrain has been impacted by the events of 2011, said Interior Minister Lieutenant General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, emphasising on moderation and combatting sectarianism and extremism as directed by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
“There have been many efforts to include everyone and bring the situation under control. These efforts have been led by HM the King through his resolve to interact with the people. On many occasions, HM the King has highlighted that we are adopting a moderate approach and has called upon the people to free themselves from the isolation of sectarianism and extremism and progress towards nationalism,” he said, adding that it is a call for positivity and optimism.
‘The achievement of this national goal requires from us an effort to confront extremism, sectarianism and hatred. If we review HM the King’s reforms project, we realise it is the largest national project that includes the approval of the National Action Charter, the drafting of the Constitution, the creation of the National Assembly and the endorsement of laws. In this major achievement we cannot find a single word that discriminates between one citizen and another,” the minister said.
Focussing on the dangers of targeting the “Bahraini identity”, he said that there are issues related to upbringing younger generations based on wrong doctrines, promotion of incitement, negative reports in the foreign media. “The tendency to promote incitement is an issue that should not recur. It spreads through political or religious speeches or the media. It has had a negative effect on the national identity and spirit. This issue should be kept under observation and control through the laws and regulations as well as the spirit of nationalism. For the upbringing at home and in schools,” he said.
Award constituted
Shaikh Rashid yesterday announced the constitution of an award as part of the Interior Ministry’s nationalism project, an initiative to encourage the public to preserve the national identity and social relations in Bahrain that was negatively effected by the events in the past seven years. The minister said more details on the award would be announced soon.
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