GCC force ‘plans headquarters in Bahrain’

Dubai: An additional permanent headquarters for the Peninsula Shield, the military arm of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), is set to be inaugurated in Bahrain soon, a report has said.

The headquarters will be named The Advanced Command of the Peninsula Shield Forces, the London-based Al Hayat daily said on Tuesday, quoting Gulf sources it did not identify. The report did not specify the size of the Gulf force to be stationed in Bahrain.

Gulf officials will attend the official inauguration of the new headquarters.

In December, Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s foreign minister, said that the Peninsula Shield had several stations, explaining that the headquarters were in Hafr Al Baten in northern Saudi Arabia while its naval force was in Bahrain.

Military alliances, such as the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (Nato), tend to have stations in several member states, the minister said.

There has been no official comment from the Bahraini government on the matter.