Documents and interviews with current and former intelligence officials describe an elaborate training program, orchestrated by Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to school Bahraini militants in the techniques of advanced bombmaking and guerrilla warfare. “But this is real.”[Trump wants to push back against Iran, but Iran is more powerful than ever]The mounting evidence has prompted unprecedented steps by U.S. and European governments targeting alleged leaders of Bahraini Shiite militant groups. On March 16, German authorities ordered the arrest of a Bahraini man — a 27-year-old Shiite asylum seeker living in Berlin — under international warrants accusing him of being a terrorist operative for the al-Ashtar Brigades, a Bahraini Shiite militant group that has claimed responsibility for deadly attacks against Bahraini police officers. Weaponry seized from Bahraini militants since 2013 includes small arms, grenades and ammunition bearing distinctive Iranian markings. In response, Bahraini officials point to ongoing efforts to institute political reforms, including the appointment of an independent ombudsman to weigh complaints of mistreatment leveled by Shiite opposition groups.

Source: Washington Post April 01, 2017 19:40 UTC