Bahrain detains dozens in mass crackdown on dissent

Bahrain police said Sunday that 47 people have been detained on alleged terrorism links, while charges were being filed against another 290 individuals.

The interior minister said law enforcement had arrested 47 "terrorist agents" and claimed planned attacks across the country - including the killings of "officials and public figures" - had been foiled. 

Police had also transferred the cases of 290 wanted persons and suspects to the public prosecutor's office, a statement said. 

It did not specify the dates of the arrests but said they were part of "one of the most important preventive operations", triggered by "attacks on police" and a fire at a Saudi Aramco oil pipeline in Bahrain last year. 

Authorities have cracked down hard on dissent since mass street protests in 2011, which demanded an elected prime minister and constitutional monarchy in the Sunni-ruled, Shia majority kingdom. 

The government accuses Tehran of training "terrorist cells" in the tiny island state, located between rival regional heavyweights Iran and Saudi Arabia. Iran denies involvement. 

Dozens of Bahrainis have been jailed and stripped of citizenship since Arab Spring-inspired protests broke out in 2011. 

Bahrain's parliament and king last year granted military courts jurisdiction to try civilians charged with "terrorism" - a vaguely defined legal term.

The kingdom has also deported citizens whose nationalities had been revoked. 

A key US ally and home to the US Fifth Fleet, Bahrain has drawn harsh criticism from international rights groups over its crackdown on dissent.