Bahrain Mirror (AP): A defense lawyer in the Gulf Arab country of Bahrain says a court has ordered 12 Shiites to life in prison and stripped them of their citizenship on charges of forming a terrorist group and targeting police with explosive devices.

Lawyer Isa Ebrahim told The Associated Press the higher criminal court issued its verdict Sunday for incidents that took place in 2013 and 2014.

Last week, a Bahraini court ordered five people stripped of their citizenship after they were convicted on terrorism charges and of spying for Shiite powerhouse Iran.

Hundreds of mostly Shiite opposition activists have been sentenced to prison and dozens stripped of their nationality in Bahrain since 2011, when protests led by the country's Shiite majority broke out demanding greater political rights from the Sunni-led monarchy.