Bahrain links explosives in Tuesday bombing to Iran

The explosives used in a bombing that killed two policemen in Bahrain on Tuesday were similar to those recently seized by security forces after allegedly being smuggled from Iran, state news agency BNA reported.

“Early information suggests that the explosives used in today’s terrorist attack are of the same type that were recently intercepted coming from Iran,” BNA said.

The attack happened in the mainly Shi’ite village of Sitra, south of the capital Manama, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

“A terrorist bombing targeted policemen on duty in the Sitra area, resulting in the deaths of two of them and seriously wounding a third,” the Interior Ministry said on its Twitter account.

It added that five more policemen had received light to moderate injuries and were being treated in hospital.

On Saturday, the government said it had foiled an arms and explosives smuggling plot by two Bahrainis with ties to Iran, and recalled its ambassador to Tehran.

The Sunni-ruled kingdom often accuses Iran of stirring up unrest among the island kingdom’s Shi’ite majority. Iran denies interfering in Bahrain, but it openly supports opposition groups seeking greater rights for Bahrain’s Shi’ite community.

Bahrain was hit in 2011 by demonstrations demanding greater democracy and more rights for Shi’ites, many of whom say they are subject to political and economic discrimination.