Eurasia Press & News
Saraya al-Ashtar, a Shia armed faction in Bahrain, has announced its first operation against Israel
The Islamic Resistance in Bahrain announced on 2 May an attack on the headquarters of an Israeli transportation company in the southern port city of Eilat.
“The Islamic Resistance in Bahrain – Saraya al-Ashtar (Al-Ashtar Brigades) – announces the targeting of the headquarters of the company responsible for ground transportation in the Zionist entity (Trucknet), in the city of Umm al-Rashrash in occupied Palestine (Eilat), on Tuesday, April 27, 2024, using drones in support of the Palestinian cause and in solidarity with our resisting people in Gaza,” a statement read.
“The Islamic Resistance in Bahrain affirms that it will continue its movements and support on all fronts for our patient people resisting in Gaza, and that it will not cease its operations until the Zionist aggression on Gaza stops,” the statement added.
Footage released by the group shows a large drone taking off.
Since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, several fronts have been opened against Israel to support the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah has launched daily operations against Israeli military bases and sites near the border. In Yemen, the Ansarallah movement and the Armed Forces of the Sanaa government have imposed a maritime blockade on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea, Arab Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean – and have carried out several drone and missile attacks targeting Eilat.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq coalition also began striking US military bases in Iraq and Syria in October, before shifting their focus to targeting sites within Israel.
This is the first time in the ongoing war that a faction in Bahrain joins in on the Axis of Resistance operations against Israel.
Saraya al-Ashtar, a Shia Muslim faction, has been accused of several attacks against Bahraini police officers and security forces over the past several years. Bahrain’s Shia majority has long been repressed by the Sunni Al-Khalifa ruling family.
Bahrain’s Al-Wefaq opposition party and its leaders, as well as other groups, face significant persecution from Bahraini authorities.
Saudi military intervention in Bahrain in 2011 helped the Al-Khalifa monarchy crackdown on an anti-government uprising.
The Gulf nation is known to have a strong US military presence and is the base of operations for the US Fifth Fleet.
In 2020, Bahrain was among several Arab states that normalized with Israel under the Abraham Accords. Yet the country’s people have continued to protest normalization and ties with Israel.
