ADDITIONAL ARRESTS IN ALLEGED NATIONAL DAY BOMB

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000845

SIPDIS

BAGHDAD FOR AMBASSADOR ERELI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2023
TAGS: PGOV PTER PHUM SY BA
SUBJECT: ADDITIONAL ARRESTS IN ALLEGED NATIONAL DAY BOMB
PLOT

REF: A. MANAMA 816

B. MANAMA 762

C. MANAMA 742

Classified By: CDA Christopher Henzel for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: The GOB claimed that a pipe bomb plot
implicated Shi'a oppositionists in London, and that some
plotters trained in Syria. Bahraini Shi'a are skeptical and
angry over the charges. The GOB charges beg many questions,
and the USG should treat them cautiously until more evidence
comes forward. End summary.


2. (U) Bahraini authorities have arrested fourteen Shi'a
Bahrainis so far in connection with an alleged plot (ref A)
to set off explosions during Bahrain's National Day
celebrations December 16-17.


3. (C) Police contacts initially described to us an
amateurish plan by two Shi'a men to construct what amounted
to pipe bombs, using small cooking gas canisters as
explosive. The men had no detonators, and hoped the devices
would eventually cook off when placed in burning garbage.


4. (C) Initial contacts also indicated that the GOB
intelligence service, the Bahrain National Security Agency,
was taking the lead. The BNSA's director, Shaikh Khalifa bin
Abdullah Al Khalifah, came to the job in April after a brief
stint as Bahraini Ambassador in London. He is close to the
King, but lacks experience in police and intelligence work.


5. (C) The GOB gave the case a new, more serious spin
December 27 when Interior Minister Rashid bin Abdullah Al
Khalifah gave a televised press conference charging that the
plotters planned to place three of these home-made bombs in
shopping malls and other public areas. He asserted that the
plotters trained in bomb-making at a camp in Syria, and had
links to radical exiles in the United Kingdom. Bahrain's
Foreign Minister phoned CDA and several European chiefs of
mission to stress the seriousness of the alleged plot and
request support. On December 28, Bahraini state television
broadcast confessions by a number of the detainees. The GCC
summit's December 30 communique included praise for the GOB's
disruption of the alleged plot.

Alleged Connection to Syria . . .
--------------


6. (C) Shaikh Rashid told CDA December 30 that BNSA was
initially in the lead, but that he had recently been directed
to take a larger role in the case. The minister claimed the
GOB had been working with the Syrian government for months
because he had information that the Shi'a radicals trained at
a camp in Syria. He said he did not yet know the location in
Syria of the camp.


7. (C) Shaikh Rashid said two Syrian security officials
would be arriving in Bahrain later that day to update him on
their investigation, but he did not expect any new useful
information.

. . . And Britain
--------------


8. (SBU) Shaikh Rashid also claimed that evidence would come
out at trial showing that the plotters were in league with
radical Shi'a opposition politicians. One, Abdurrauf Sha'ib,
is in self-imposed exile in London. Another, Ali Musha'ima,
is studying there, and is the son of Hassan Musha'ima, a
leader of the Shi'a Haq movement, which opposes participation
in Bahrain's elections.

Shi'a Skeptical, Angry
--------------


9. (C) Shaikh Rashid was frustrated that Bahrain's Shi'a
community had rallied around the accused "as usual." He said
he would meet soon with Ali Salman, the Shi'a cleric who
leads the Wifaq party, to seek his support. Post's contacts
in Wifaq privately express skepticism about aspects of the
government's charges, but are taking no position publicly for
now.


10. (SBU) Most Shi'a Bahrainis believe the alleged plot was

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a small-time crime which the government inflated in order to
discredit oppositionists. Family of the detainees are already
asserting publicly that their relatives must have been
coerced into their confessions, though there is as of yet no
evidence of mistreatment. On December 30 Sunni members of
parliament attempted to introduce a motion condemning the
alleged plot, setting off shouting matches that brought the
chamber's work to a halt.


11. (C) Comment: It is out of character for the normally
cautious Shaikh Rashid to go public with allegations that beg
as many questions as these do; the government's approach
probably has the blessing of the King. This approach
reflects the Sunni community's mounting frustration with
perceived opposition insults and with continuing street
violence (refs B and C). The USG should adopt a wait-and-see
posture toward the charges until there is more evidence.

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HENZEL