News / Defense / Persian Gulf

Bahrain recruited al-Qaeda operatives to target dissidents, Iran: Documentary

Tuesday, 16 July 2019 4:39 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 16 July 2019 4:50 PM ]

This handout photo, taken and released by the Saudi Royal Palace, shows Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) welcoming Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at the start of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC) at al-Safa Royal Palace in the Saudi city of Mecca, on May 31, 2019. (Via AFP)

A documentary by Qatar’s pan-Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera has revealed that Bahrain recruited al-Qaeda terrorists to take out dissidents inside the Arab country and conduct terrorist attacks in Iran.

The documentary, titled “Playing with fire” and aired by Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language news channel, said Bahraini intelligence officers were in direct contact with al-Qaeda terrorists and organized them into a terrorist cell to take out Shia figures inside Bahrain.

It exposed what it said were recorded communications between Bahraini intelligence officials and the al-Qaeda members and said the operations were authorized by Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa himself.

The documentary said the king intervened personally to ensure the success of the operations.

‘Terrorist contacted Saudi Arabia for weapons’

One notorious terrorist commander, Mohammed Saleh, is seen in the documentary revealing that he contacted Saudi Arabian officials to ask for weapons.

The documentary said Bahraini intelligence officials also met with al-Qaeda-linked terrorists in southeastern Iran to coordinate attacks within the country.

One terrorist, Hosham Baluchi, who headed the terror cell Ansar al-Forghan, had been recruited by the Bahraini intelligence in 2006 for the purpose of conducting acts of terror in Iran, according to Al Jazeera.

Iranian security forces hunted down and killed Baluchi in 2015.

PressTV-Head of terrorist group killed in SE Iran

The head of the Ansar al-Furqan terrorist group is killed by Iranian security forces in Sistan-Baluchestan province.

In a debate on Press TV on Monday, James Jatras, a former US Senate foreign policy analyst, and Michael Springmann, an American author and former diplomat, agreed that some Arab regimes led by Riyadh had used terrorist groups to achieve their political goals in the region.