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Bomb attack in Bahrain kills two police officers

The attack occurred on the majority-Shia island of Sitra, just off the eastern coast of the main island of Bahrain.

By Fred Lambert
A bomb attack on the island of Sitra, Bahrain, killed two police officers and injured six others, one critically. Image from Google Maps
A bomb attack on the island of Sitra, Bahrain, killed two police officers and injured six others, one critically. Image from Google Maps

SITRA, Bahrain, July 28 (UPI) -- A bomb attack on Tuesday killed two police officers and wounded several others on the island of Sitra, Bahrain, according to the country's interior ministry.

At least one other officer was badly injured while another five suffered lighter wounds.

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The attack occurred days after authorities in the Gulf Arab nation said they had arrested two men who admitted to involvement in the smuggling of automatic weapons, ammunition and explosives from Iran.

Bahrain recalled its ambassador from Tehran on Tuesday, and state media reports suggested the explosives used in the attack were the same type confiscated in the anti-smuggling operation.

Tuesday's attack joins a growing list of bombings against police in predominantly Shia areas of the country, the BBC reports.

Bahrain is a majority Shia Muslim country ruled by the Sunni monarchy of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. In 2011 it was the setting of Arab Spring protests that the government violently suppressed after Shia demonstrators took to the streets demanding reforms and the overthrow of Al Khalifa. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies intervened at the request of the king.

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Bahrain is home to the U.S. 5th Fleet, and the island nation joins the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan and Egypt in a Saudi-led coalition bombing Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen. The coalition has accused Iran of supporting the rebels militarily, which Tehran denies.

Bahrain is also a member of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State known as Operation Inherent Resolve. Along with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Canada and the United States, it conducts airstrikes against IS positions in Syria.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for bombings in neighboring Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and a leader of an alleged IS cell in Bahrain reportedly made direct threats to the country following the June 26 bombing of the Imam Sadiq Mosque in Kuwait City. The mosque was packed with Shia Muslims, whom IS has condemned as heretics.

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