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Bahrain charges 24 for trying to set up Daesh branch

Dubai - Eight of the 24 accused have been arrested and the rest remain at large, according to a statement by Public Prosecutor Ahmed Al Hammadi.

Twenty-four people face trial in Bahrain for trying to set up a branch of the Daesh militant group and promoting the overthrow of the Gulf Arab state's monarchy, the public prosecutor's office said on Wednesday.
Bahrain was swept by protests during the 2011 "Arab Spring" uprisings in which the Shia majority demanded political reforms from the ruling family.
The new case was the first time Bahrain named the Daesh in connection with alleged militancy inside the island kingdom, which hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet.
Eight of the 24 accused have been arrested and the rest remain at large, according to a statement by Public Prosecutor Ahmed Al Hammadi. Other charges included weapons possession and conducting training in the use of explosives, it said.
The statement said prosecutors had evidence that one of the accused had recruited two others to join Daesh and travel to Syria for training. The two recruits then convinced the rest to join through social media, it said.
Many, Al Hamadi alleged, went on to "participate in combat operations outside the kingdom" and were planning suicide attacks on religious sites similar to those carried out in neighbouring Arab countries.
Gulf Arab states have grown increasingly worried about blowback from Daesh militancy, especially concerning the return of their own nationals who have fought in wars in Iraq and Syria, parts of which are under Daesh control.
Also read: Policeman killed, seven injured in Bahrain 'terrorist blast'
Local affiliates of the ultra hardline group have claimed several attacks on Shia communities in the Gulf.
In Saudi Arabia, militants linked to Daesh attacked a Shia meeting hall on October 16, killing five people, and in May two separate suicide bombings on Shia mosques killed 25 worshippers.
Also read: 20 killed in Saudi mosque blast, Daesh claims attack
In June, a young Saudi man detonated an explosives-laden vest at a mosque in Kuwait City, killing 27 people.
The charges followed a months-long investigation, the statement added, and the accused are to be tried in Bahrain's High Criminal Court with the first session set for December 22.
Also read: Daesh claims mosque attack in Kuwait, 25 dead
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