Bahrain Mirror: IBTimes (IBT) website said that  Qatari soldiers would no longer be a part of the anti-terrorism fight in Bahrain. The Bahrain government has ordered Qatari troops serving with the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (Navcent) to leave the country within two days, a source told the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

However, there has not been any official announcement from the Naval command center yet, the website added.

Bahrain has accused Qatar of direct interference in their internal matters, the report said.

Although the exact number of troops present in the region is not known, reports suggest that there are very few Qatari officers in Bahrain, IBT stated.

The news comes as the Gulf faces the biggest diplomatic crisis in recent years. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ended their diplomatic relations with Qatar on June 5 and closed their airspace to commercial flights. The countries have alleged that Qatar has been supporting extremism, following which they decided to keep a distance from the Middle Eastern country.

Qatar has deployed its troops with Navcent which is a part of the US Central Command. These troops mostly operate in the Middle East and Asia.

"The withdrawal of troops can have wider implications as U.S. has its largest air base in Qatar. Numerous air strikes targeting Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan have been conducted from the Qatari air base," IBT further noted.

With President Donald Trump siding Saudi Arabia and its allies, the future of the air base was doubtful. The US military authorities have been stressing on maintaining friendly relations with Qatar. However, Trump's stand on the issue was putting them in a fix, reports said.

Tensions with Qatar's neighbors have grown in the recent years, following a tussle for regional leadership. Qatar has backed Islamist movements in the Middle East during the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011. It has also emphasized on improving its relations with Tehran.

Arabic Version