More than six million protesters took to the streets around the globe on Saturday to send a passionate message to President Bush not to invade Iraq and to give peace a chance. Five Bahraini men aged 31-41 were arrested for plotting terrorist acts against the island's "national interests and endangering the lives of innocent people," the official Bahrain News Agency reported.

Police also seized weapons and ammunition that the detainees were planning to use "for carrying out acts of terrorism targeting the security of the country and the people," the agency reported.

Bahraini officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the arrests - the first terror-related detentions inside this close U.S. ally since Sept. 11 - occurred in the past two days.

It was not clear if the men were part of a larger terrorist network.

With anti-American sentiment growing in the Gulf region over a threatened U.S. war on Iraq, military planners are alert to possible attacks like the 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, which killed 17 U.S. sailors.

Last month, U.S. Navy chiefs deployed high-speed Navy patrol cutters to the Gulf to protect U.S. military ships, oil tankers and command vessels.

Bahraini officials said investigations into the terror suspects were ongoing and declined to give details about whether there was a specific plot. One official said the investigation would include whether U.S. naval facilities were a target.

Bahrain hosts 4,000 American military personnel and may play a role in any U.S. attack on Iraq.

PHOTO CAPTION

This is a handout photo from the Kingdom of Bahrain Ministry of Information showing suspected terrorist cell members who were arrested in Bahrain, Saturday Feb. 15, 2003. Those arrested were Bassam Yousif Abdul-Rahman Ali, top left, Isa Abdul-Rahman Al-Balooshi, top center, Jamal Hilal Mohammed Al-Balooshi, top right, Mohideen Mahmoud Mohideen Khan, center bottom, and Bassam Abdul-Razak Abdulla Bukhawa, bottom right. The photo at bottom left shows the weapons that were alleged to have been captured with the men. (AP Photo/Kingdom of Bahrain Ministry of Informatio