MANAMA, 6 July 2004 — The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet has started “temporarily relocating” the families of American servicemen based in Bahrain as ordered by the Pentagon, a spokesman said yesterday.

“We started last night executing the decision of the Pentagon about temporarily relocating the families of the servicemen in Bahrain,” Cmdr. James Grybeal said.

The dependents are going back to the United States, he said, without specifying how many have left already or how long the operation would take.

Asked if and when the dependents would return, Grybeal said the matter would be evaluated by the Pentagon and US Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid, “taking into consideration the whole situation with so many factors.”

Graybeal said the orders affected 350 families, or about 650 people. They were relatives of service members or of US Defense Department staff, he said. He said earlier reports that nonessential staff also were being evacuated were incorrect.

The Pentagon announced on Friday that it had ordered the departure of dependents of military personnel from Bahrain, because of credible reports that extremists were planning attacks on US interests.

Citing the threat of violence, on Saturday the US State Department also authorized the departure of dependents and non-emergency employees at its embassy in Bahrain, where some 5,000 Americans, mostly military personnel, live.

“The department has received information that extremists are planning attacks against US and other Western interests in the Kingdom of Bahrain,” the department said in a statement. “Credible information indicates that extremists remain at large and are planning attacks in Bahrain.”

US citizens were also warned to avoid travel to Bahrain and those already in the country were urged to consider departing.

Manama, however, has played down the US travel warning.

“Bahrain does not expect terrorist acts,” an official said Friday, describing the State Department warning as “preventative” and linked to recent developments in the region.

On Saturday, the Kingdom’s Parliament dismissed the US warning, insisting there was “no direct terrorist threat” here.

“The security situation is very stable in Bahrain, due to the democratic climate in the kingdom,” it said in a statement.

The US moves came after Manama’s release of six Islamists who were arrested for suspected links to Al-Qaeda.

After initially stating the six were planning to carry out “grave acts” in the country on behalf of the terror network, Bahraini authorities released the group without charge on June 23.