Sixteen men who headed a terrorist organisation in Bahrain were yesterday jailed for 15 years each, a report said.

The Bahrainis were convicted of establishing and leading the February 14 Coalition with the intention of arming and training its members to carry out acts of terrorism targeting property, civilians and police, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

The High Criminal Court also convicted 34 other people, including a woman, of joining the known terror cell.

Four of them were jailed for 10 years each, while the others, including the Bahraini woman, were sentenced to five years each.

However, 14 are still at large and were sentenced in absentia, including alleged masterminds Saeed Shehabi, Ali Mushaima, Abdulraouf Al Shayeb and Hadi Al Modarasi.

The February 14 Coalition terrorist group consisted of different opposition societies including Haq Movement, Islamic Action Society, Wafa Islamic Movement and London-based Bahrain Freedom Movement.

"It was formed to carry out terrorist acts in Bahrain with the help of foreign countries. One of the goals of the terrorist organisation was to establish a military wing in Bahrain connected to the Al Shirazi Movement,” court documents said.

"They trained Bahraini teenagers on using explosives abroad and then carried out terrorist acts in Bahrain by calling it a 'revolution'.

"The terrorist organisation was being funded by countries abroad and money was collected in Bahrain from the defendants' salaries and donations made at rallies held by opposition groups.

"One of the defendants also told prosecutors that he was in charge of a plan to bring weapons into Bahrain through Iraq. The weapons were then supposed to be taken to Iran and into Bahrain by boat.”

The cell was led by masterminds in Bahrain and London who frequently travelled to Iran, Iraq and Lebanon for financial and moral support.

Three of the defendants were convicted of conspiring with Iran to plot attacks in Manama, and establishing ties with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to provide them information about Bahrain.

They also accepted money from the Persian state and eight received firearms and explosives training to carry out attacks in Bahrain.

Six of the defendants provided training in weapons and explosives, while nine collected money to fund its activities. Another also assaulted three policemen.

Prosecutors earlier argued that the 38-year-old woman was part of a plot to attack the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix last April.

The terrorist group devised plots to plant a bomb during the F1 race, blew up ATMs, carried out arson attacks on car showrooms and planted explosives in several locations in Manama that resulted in the deaths of two Asian expatriates.

Three of them were also said to be behind a car bombing at the Bahrain Financial Harbour in April, although nobody was injured.

It was also claimed some of those convicted were part of a terrorist group known as the Al Imam Army and were planning attacks on specific locations, including American targets.

Mushaima and Al Shayeb were convicted for 15 years each in absentia May last year for being part of an Iran-backed terrorist cell planning attacks in Bahrain. – TradeArabia News Service