Bahrain seizes bomb-making materials from 18-year old travelling from Iraq

Bahraini authorities on Monday allegedly seized bomb-making materials found aboard a truck coming from Iraq via Saudi Arabia, according to the state-run Bahrain News Agency.

There was also a bag on board the truck containing electrical equipment used for bomb-making, Attorney-General Ahmed al-Hamadi was quoted as saying.

He said the material and equipment had been brought from Iraq by an 18-year-old for a man living in Bahrain.

The news agency said that 140 electric detonators, 41 electric circuits, a remote control and some mobile phones were found hidden inside some electrical appliances in the bag.

Al-Hamadi added that the materials had been given to the 18-year-old by a man living in Iraq who is wanted by the Bahraini security agencies for involvement in a number of "terrorism" cases.

The 18-year-old, al-Hamadi said, had confessed under interrogation to having brought the materials from a relative in Iraq with the aim of bringing them to an individual in Bahrain who planned to use them to carry out attacks inside the country.

Bahraini prosecutors said in a statement on Sunday that the authorities had arrested a man wanted by security agencies while he was en route to Bahrain from Iraq.

They added that a large amount of explosives had been found in the man's possession at the time of his arrest.

Bahrain has been in a state of unrest since the beginning of demonstrations in 2011 against the centuries-long rule of the Khalifa family.

The majority of Bahrain's citizens are Shiite and have long complained that the Sunni royal family have exploited sectarianism in the country in order to marginalise them.

The Bahraini government has frequently accused Iran of supporting the Shiite protestors in the country, but critics have argued there is no evidence for the claim.