Bomb kills two Bahraini cops

Gov’t implicates Iran • Local Shi’ites condemn attack

DUBAI (Reuters) – A bomb killed two Bahraini policemen Tuesday and the explosives resembled some seized at the weekend the government say were smuggled in from Iran, state news BNA reported.

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

“A terrorist bombing targeted policemen on duty in the Sitra area, resulting in the deaths of two of them and seriously wounding a third,” BNA said, citing a tweet from the Interior Ministry. Five other policemen were lightly to moderately injured and were being treated in hospital, the ministry 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 was hit in 2011 by demonstrations demanding greater democracy and more rights for Shi’ites, many of whom say they are subject to discrimination.

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.”