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What Is Bahrian's Saraya al-Mukhtar Militia?
By Namo Abdulla
December 19, 2020 10:55 AM
WASHINGTON - The U.S. State Department this week designated as a terrorist organization a Bahrain-based Shi'ite militant group known as Saraya al-Mukhtar (SM) for allegedly receiving "financial and logistic" assistance from the Iranian military to oust the small island Arab nation's government.
"Saraya al-Mukhtar is an Iran-backed terrorist organization based in Bahrain, reportedly receiving financial and logistic support from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement Tuesday.
Pompeo added that the group's "self-described goal is to depose the Bahraini government with the intention of paving the way for Iran to exert greater influence in Bahrain. The group has plotted attacks against U.S. personnel in Bahrain and has offered cash rewards for the assassination of Bahraini officials."
Bahraini authorities welcomed Washington's designation, though it comes much later than similar moves taken by other countries, including Britain, where the Parliament blacklisted the group in 2018. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt designated the group on the same day as Bahrain a year earlier.
"The designation is a significant positive step taken to confront the malicious actions and intentions of the terrorist organization supported by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and to combat its destabilizing activities in the region and...