Confessions by alleged members of a terrorist cell rounded up last week were broadcast on Bahrain Television.

Four men accused of being part of the Saraya Al Ashtar (Saraya Brigade) described receiving weapons and explosives training in Iraq with the aim of killing security officers in Bahrain, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Police on Tuesday announced that 12 suspected members of the group had been arrested and said the ringleaders, named as Ahmed Yousif Sarhan, (also known as Abumuntadhar), 26, and Jassim Ahmed Abdullah (also known as Thualfaqar), 39, were both still at large in Iran.

The four alleged members whose televised confessions were broadcast yesterday are Fadhel Mohammed Ali, 25, Hussain Jaffar Abdullah, 31, Hassan Ali Mahdi Ahmed, 19, and Abdullah Mohammed Abdullah Hussain, 20.

In his confession Hussain Jaffar Abdullah said he was sent to Iraq to receive military training at Hizbollah camps.

“Ten days ago, Abumuntadhar said the training has been confirmed and we booked a flight to go to Iraq,” he said.

“On our arrival, we were given a contact number for someone called Abu Baqer, who is affiliated to a group called “Kata’eb Hizbollah Al Iraqi” and were asked to identify ourselves as relatives of Abu Hanan or Abu Jinan.

“We were taken to Baghdad where we received theoretical lessons on security and secrecy and then we were taken to Karbala and also given theoretical lessons on using mortars and other weapons

“We learnt about maps and GPS in another house and later were taught about explosives and their properties.

“Political analysis and recruitment methods were also among the lessons we received in Iraq.”

He said he was among a number of people taken to be trained in what seemed like a military camp.

“I was taken to a camp where all I could see was people dressed in military clothes, but I didn’t feel like they belonged to the country’s military or any other entity,” he said.

“I was also given military clothes to wear and was trained to use a Kalashnikov (assault rifle), Dragunov (sniper rifle), PKC (machine-gun) and RPG (rocket powered grenade).

“Then we were  trained on using explosives of three kinds.”

He also admitted that he and other members of the group detonated explosives in Daih in February last year.

“Me and two other men have earlier planted two explosives in a place in Daih and detonated them when police arrived after sunset,” he said.

He also admitted that he and Fadhel Mohammed Ali, who also made a similar confession, were assigned to form a terrorist group targeting police officers and conspired with leaders outside Bahrain.

In a statement yesterday, police said Fadhel Mohammed Ali and Hussain Jaffar Abdullah were responsible for arranging training in Iraq for fellow suspects.

It added that Abbas Hassan Ahmed Saleh, 22, Abdullah Mohammed Abdullah Hussain, 20, and Sayed Alawi Mohammed Jaber Al Wadaee, 22, who are also in custody, travelled to Iraq for such training.

Other suspects arrested have been identified as Ahmed Abdullah Hussan, 22, Abdullah Ali Abdullah Kadhem, 22, Abdullah Hassan Abdullah Ibrahim, 25, Hussain Ali Abdullah Ali, 33, Abdullah Jaffar Abdullah Fadhel, 28, Hussain Mohammed Ali Abdulhadi, 28, and Abdullah Mohammed Abdullah Hussain, 20.

The Interior Ministry yesterday stated the suspects confirmed their membership of Saraya Al Ashtar and told investigators they received training in Iraq from “Hizbollah Brigades”.

It said the training also focused on the use of C4 and TNT explosives, in addition to how to conduct abductions, dismantling and installation of arms and the use of mortars and detonators.

Abdullah in his confession said he received his orders from Abumuntadhar and other leaders based in Qom, Iran, through the BlackBerry Messenger service.

“We used to get the money needed in envelopes, which could reach up to BD300, in places like ma’atams in Daih and mosques in Meqsha and Al Qadam,” he said.

“All our communications were done by the Blackberry Messenger service.”

Meanwhile, Fadhel Mohammed Ali also confessed that he carried out terrorist acts in Bahrain.

“I was arrested in May 2012 and then after two months I was released and I headed to India to study,” he said.

“Then I was added again on a Blackberry group ‘Ya Ali’ and we were asked to organise a group to kidnap an officer.

“However, Abumuntadhar said the plan has changed and ordered us to burn an ATM machine.

“The operation was also cancelled because one of us, called Jawad, did Istikhara prayers (which people perform when faced with a decision) and felt that it had to be cancelled.

“Then the plan was changed to burn a police patrol in Abu Saiba and the operation was executed when the police arrived in the morning.

“Abumuntadhar said that operation will be done under the name Saraya Al Ashtar when I asked him.” - TradeArabia News Service