Bahraini police thwarted terror plot against F1 race

The Bahraini police on Tuesday said they have foiled a major terror operation that involved coordinated attacks using homemade weapons against the F1 race, Xinhua news agency reported.

Chief of public security Tariq Al Hassan said the interior ministry's investigations led to searches that foiled plots aimed at creating disorder at the race, denouncing the planned attacks as "nothing short of domestic terrorism."

He said that a warehouse in Diraz with a huge amount of homemade weapons were discovered and confiscated on Saturday and 19 fake bombs and three explosive devices, planted in key areas to target the police, were dismantled over the weekend.

He added the police had discovered an illegal medical clinic in Aali used to treat rioters and others on the run.

Meanwhile, Hassan underscored the heavy security measures taken during the sport event, which involved some 8,000 public security personnel from different units including the coast guard and police aviation.

He refuted rumours circulating on social media that the police had made arbitrary arrest.