Bahrain strips 115 of nationality

DUBAI: A Bahrain court on Tuesday sentenced 115 Bahrainis to jail terms ranging from three years to life and stripped them of their nationality for forming an Iran-linked "terrorist" group, the public prosecutor said.

A judicial source told AFP the group were all members of Bahrains majority. The defendants were found guilty of forming the "Zulfiqar Battalions", which the court said had received training in Iran and Iraq from Irans Revolutionary Guard with "the intent to commit hostile acts" against Bahrain.

According to a statement by the public prosecutor, the group had hidden weapons, tracked targets and planted homemade bombs "with the intent of killing security personnel", though no casualties had resulted.