Bahrain alleges Iran-backed group planned assassinations

14 suspected conspirators accused of training with Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah in Iraq

File: A police armored vehicle splattered with paint bombs fires tear gas toward Bahraini anti-government protesters during clashes in Sitra, Bahrain, on Sunday, February 14, 2016. (Hasan Jamali/AP)
File: A police armored vehicle splattered with paint bombs fires tear gas toward Bahraini anti-government protesters during clashes in Sitra, Bahrain, on Sunday, February 14, 2016. (Hasan Jamali/AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Bahrain is alleging a 14-member group backed by Iran planned assassinations in the island kingdom.

The Interior Ministry issued a statement early Monday saying 11 members of the group “are suspected of receiving overseas military training under the supervision of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah in Iraq.”

It says police had arrested 14 suspects in raids that saw officers seize weapons and explosives. It says the group’s two leaders are abroad in Iran.

Iran’s government called the allegation a “futile and baseless lie.”

Sunni-ruled Bahrain, like other Gulf Arab nations, remains suspicious of Shiite power Iran and periodically announces similar arrests.

Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, has seen unrest present since its 2011 Arab Spring protests escalate recently amid a government crackdown on dissent.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.

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