Jul 28 2015
In This Article
Thomson Reuters
Photo Credit:Reuters/Hamad I Mohammed – RTX1M3FX
* Bomb injured six policemen
* Worst since March 2014
* Gulf Arab region on edge after nuclear deal
(Updates casualties, adds Wefaq, analyst, witness)
MANAMA, July 28 (
Reuters
) – A bomb killed two policemen and
wounded six in the deadliest such attack in Bahrain in months,
and state media said the explosives resembled some seized at the
weekend that authorities say were smuggled in from Iran.
Sunni-ruled Bahrain has long accused Iran of stirring up
unrest among its Shi’ite population and tensions between the two
sides have risen in recent days, with Bahrain recalling its
ambassador from Tehran on Saturday.
A nuclear deal reached this month between Tehran and global
powers has also set its Gulf Arab neighbours on edge, who fear
less foreign pressure on Iran due to the deal could embolden its
foreign policy on their turf.
The bombing outside a girls’ school in the Shi’ite village
of Sitra was the first in Bahrain for several months, and the
worst since March 2014, when a blast killed three policemen.
Iranian officials have not commented on Tuesday’s bombing.
Tehran denies interference in Bahrain but openly supports
opposition groups seeking greater rights for the Shi’ite
majority. Sporadic violence aimed at Bahraini security forces
has become the norm since mass, Shi’ite-led pro-democracy
protests were put down by the government in 2011.
Tuesday’s blast also wounded six policemen, two critically,
two of whom are stable in intensive care, and two who have been
discharged, state news agency BNA reported.
The force of the blast ripped a large hole in the wall of
the school, which was closed for the summer holidays, a
Reuters
witness said.
Al Wefaq, Bahrain’s largest Shi’ite opposition movement,
condemned the attack in a statement on its website, saying “such
acts are alien to the wide peaceful popular movement which is
demanding a democratic transition in Bahrain”.
LINKS TO IRAN
Sunni Gulf rulers are also deeply critical of Iranian
involvement in regional conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, and
accuse Tehran of contributing to the increasingly bitter
sectarian rift between Sunnis and Shi’ites.
In a message posted on his Twitter account, Bahrain’s
foreign minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, suggested
there was no difference between Sunni or Shi’ite Islamist
militants, adding: “Their goal is the same, and their reference
point is Iran”.
BNA said the explosives were similar to those seized by
security forces on Saturday, which the government says were
smuggled into the country by two Bahrainis with links to Iran.
Bahrain also recalled its ambassador to Tehran for
consultations on Saturday after what it said were repeated
hostile statements made by Iranian officials.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on
Sunday for a united front among Middle Eastern nations to fight
militancy during a visit to Kuwait.
Iran’s role in the region was unpredictable due to internal
divisions, said Aimen Dean, Managing Director of the Five
Dimensions consultancy.
“There is one foreign policy pursued by (President Hassan)
Rouhani and Zarif, and another pursued by the IRGC and the Qods
Force,” he said, referring to powerful revolutionary factions
not accountable to the elected government.
(Reporting by Reem Shamseddine; Additional reporting by Hamad
Mohammed in Manama; Writing by Sam Wilkin; Editing by William
Maclean and Raissa Kasolowsky)
((sam.wilkin@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4453 6873; Twitter
@WilkinReports;))
Keywords: BAHRAIN SECURITY/BLAST
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