Overview: Amid a third consecutive year of political and social unrest, Bahrain developed its counterterrorism capacities while taking some steps to better protect human rights in the conduct of its counterterrorist effort. Violent opposition groups' use of real and hoax improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and increasingly sophisticated weapons and detonators remained a key threat to security services. Bahrain-U.S. counterterrorism cooperation remained strong.

2013 Terrorist Incidents:

  • On February 15, a policeman died from injuries he sustained from an improvised-projectile launcher fired by rioters.

  • During April 12-15, three separate bombs detonated, injuring one police officer and damaging both a police vehicle and a girls' school.

  • On May 30, a device exploded in Bani Jamra village, injuring several policemen.

  • On July 6 in Sitra, a homemade bomb exploded, killing one policeman and severely injuring two others.

  • On July 17, a gas cylinder exploded inside a parked car outside a mosque in Riffa without any injuries.

  • On August 17, an explosion in the village of Al-Dayr injured five policemen, one of whom later succumbed to his injuries.

  • In October, two separate explosions injured at least five policemen.

  • On December 17, a homemade bomb exploded in the town of Dimistan, injuring two police officers. A vehicle-borne gas cylinder exploded on December 23 near a shopping mall in Seef without causing injuries.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Penalties for terrorism-related acts are spelled out in the Antiterrorism Law of 2006 and Articles 155 and 168 of the Penal Code. King Hamad issued royal decree-laws in July amending the 2006 law to increase penalties for some terrorism-related offenses. Separate royal decrees issued in August and September amended the Charity Fundraising Law of 1956 to tighten terrorist finance monitoring and penalties, to increase penalties for parents of juveniles involved in terrorism, and to strengthen the ability of the Minister of State for Communications to monitor and impede the use of social media to facilitate or promote terrorism. The royal decrees were in response to a July 28 special joint session of parliament, which sent 22 recommendations to the King for strengthening laws and state powers to counter terrorism and violent extremism.

The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is the lead government agency regarding the detection and prevention of acts of terrorism and the arrest of suspects in terrorist-related acts. The Bahrain National Security Agency provides intelligence support. The Bahraini Coast Guard monitors and interdicts the seaborne movement of weapons and terrorists into and out of the country.

The Bahraini authorities stepped up border security in recent years primarily in response to terrorist threats, and in November 2013 announced that they will introduce biometric testing at all ports of entry within the next couple of years. Deterrents to more effective law enforcement and border security are the lack of both interagency coordination and training to develop requisite law enforcement skills.

Bahrain's ongoing investment in border control and security yielded some major successes in 2013, including:

  • In February, a MOI explosives team defused a two kilogram bomb placed on the King Fahd Causeway linking Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

  • On July 4, police discovered and seized a large weapons cache in the Tubli area of Manama containing rifles, ammunition, silencers, and material used to make explosives.

  • On July 26, police and firefighters foiled an attempt to detonate a vehicle-borne gas cylinder.

  • On September 24 in Bani Jamra, a police raid yielded two homemade bombs.

  • On December 28 and 29, an MOI operation uncovered a large cache of arms and explosive materials and interdicted a boat heading to Bahrain loaded with explosives, including C4 and TNT.

  • On December 29, police defused an explosive-laden vehicle.

Prosecutions in 2013 included:

  • In March, Bahraini criminal courts convicted and sentenced more than 30 individuals to 15 years in prison for bombings in April 2012 and January 2013.

  • In June, a court handed down 10-year sentences for six people involved in a 2012 bomb blast.

  • On September 30, the government sentenced two men to 15 years in prison for being part of an Iran-backed terrorist cell.

  • In early October, sentences were handed to more than 25 individuals convicted of planting explosives in November 2012, hiding weapons caches uncovered in June 2012, and for attending terrorist training in Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

  • On November 3, four men received life sentences and six men were sentenced to 15-year terms from their role in the "Imam Army" terrorist cell police uncovered in February 2013.

  • On December 29-30, six men were sentenced to five- to 15-year terms for their role in hoax and live IEDs discovered in April and November 2012.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Bahrain is a member of the Middle East North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF), a Financial Action Task Force-style regional body. The country is an important regional financial hub, which makes it vulnerable to large cash flows through the Gulf region to support various terrorist and violent extremist groups. The United States is not aware of any public prosecutions of terrorist finance cases in 2013, although the Bahraini government did not formally reply to multiple requests for information on prosecutions. For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Regional and International Cooperation: Bahrain worked closely and cooperatively with international partners throughout the region. Since formally endorsing the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism in March 2008, Bahrain has proactively worked to expand air, sea, and causeway border control points. On December 30, the Bahraini Cabinet endorsed a Gulf Cooperation Council collective security agreement, which outlines mutual responsibilities to preserve regional security and stability and help combat terrorism and transnational and organized crime through information exchanges and coordination.

Countering Radicalization to Violence and Violent Extremism: The Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs (MOJIA) heads Bahrain's efforts to counter radicalization to violence and violent extremism, in part by organizing regular workshops for clerics and speakers from both the Sunni and Shia sects. The MOJIA also undertakes an annual review of schools' Islamic Studies curricula to evaluate interpretations of religious texts.

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