Five bombs exploded in the heart of the Bahraini capital Manama on Monday, killing two people, officials said, in rare attacks targeting civilians during the 21-month-old uprising against the kingdom’s US-backed rulers.
The blasts, one outside a cinema, could be a sign that radical elements of the opposition are escalating violence. They took place days after the government said it had banned all rallies and opposition gatherings to ensure public safety.
The victims were Asian street cleaners and one died after kicking a device which then blew up, the Interior Ministry said. It said the bombs were homemade and described the blasts as “terrorist acts” – its term for attacks by opposition activists.
Police have been targeted by explosions several times this year, as the government has stepped up efforts to quell the uprising that has simmered since democracy protests broke out in early 2011. But bombs targeting civilians are rare in the Gulf nation, where the Sunni Muslim Khalifa dynasty rules over a majority Shia population. The kingdom hosts the US Fifth Fleet, which patrols oil shipping lanes in the Gulf region.
The explosions on Monday took place between 4:30am and 9:30am in the Qudaibiya and Adliya districts of Manama, the BNA agency said, citing a police official.
It described the explosives as “locally made bombs”. A third Asian worker was wounded, it said.
Washington has called on Manama to begin dialogue on democratic reforms with the opposition but criticism has been offset by its support for a country that plays a key role in US efforts to challenge Iranian influence in the region.
The United States and Gulf allies fear Iran’s nuclear energy programme is a front for developing nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. Iran, a Shia power, also denies accusations from Manama of fomenting the unrest in Bahrain.
