Bahrain Mirror- AFP: Bahraini authorities have referred 138 suspects to court on charges including forming a "terrorist" group linked to Iran, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

The group includes 86 suspects currently in custody in the Gulf kingdom and 52 on the run between Iraq and Iran, chief prosecutor Hamad Shaheen said in a statement on the official BNA news agency.

They are charged with forming and overseeing the so-called "Zulfiqar Brigades", joining the group, causing bombings, possessing explosives and undergoing weapons and explosives training, he said.

They are also accused of "spying for a foreign country".

BNA said members of the group carried out "several terrorist attacks in the kingdom after having received training abroad at military camps overseen by (Tehran's) Revolutionary Guard" in Iran and Iraq.

Manama has repeatedly accused Shiite Iran of fanning persistent unrest among the majority community since security forces crushed Shiite-led protests for a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister in 2011.

Scores of Shiites have been jailed in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, home to the US Fifth Fleet, on charges of involvement in unrest.

Hearings in the "Zulfiqar Brigades" trial will begin on August 23, BNA added. It did not say whether all of the accused are Bahrainis.

 Arabic version