الرئيسية
Bahraini Shiites beat their chests late Saturday night,
Dec. 3, 2011, in Muharraq, Bahrain, during a Shiite procession marking
Ashura, a period of mourning for Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam's
founding prophet Mohamed. The marchers pass an area where clashes
erupted during the previous evening's procession between pro-government
supporters, police and marchers. Graffiti on the wall reads "Down
Hamad", a reference to Bahrain's king. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)
By REEM KHALIFA, AP
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — A canister containing powerful
explosive material blew apart the front of a minibus near the British
Embassy in Bahrain's capital on Sunday, the Interior Ministry said.
There were no injuries or other serious damage.
Interior Ministry
spokesman Salah Salem described the material as "highly explosive" and
said it was undergoing further analysis. Authorities gave no details on
possible suspects, but security has been boosted sharply across Bahrain
during annual Shiite Muslim religious ceremonies.
Bahrain's
majority Shiites began an uprising in February seeking greater rights
from the Gulf kingdom's Sunni rulers. Some apparent Sunni protesters
have jeered or tossed stones at the Shiite religious processions in
recent days.
Salem said the blast ripped away one of wheels from
the minibus and shattered its windows in a public parking lot about 50
yards (meters) from the British Embassy in the capital, Manama.
It
was not immediately clear whether the blast's proximity to the embassy
was intentional. It comes less than a week after mobs in Iran's capital
stormed the British Embassy and a residential compound for diplomatic
staff, leading Britain to pull its diplomats from Iran and expel Iranian
envoys from London.
Bahrain's rulers claim Iran has links to
Shiite protesters in the strategic Gulf island nation, which is home to
the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Shiite leaders in Bahrain deny any
connections to Tehran and an independent commission report into the
unrest also found no evidence of ties.
At least 35 people have
died in clashes and protest-related violence since February. Hundreds of
people have been arrested, including prominent Shiite activists
sentenced to life in prison.
On Sunday, a military court
sentenced three sportsmen — all Shiite employees of the Bahrain armed
forces — to one year each in prison on charges that included disobeying
orders to stay away from demonstrations.
The defendants included
medal-winning bodybuilder Tareq al-Fursani; Ali Said, a goalkeeper for
the national football team, and Mohammed Hassan al-Dirazi, a member of
Bahrain's basketball squad, said lawyer Mohsen al-Alawi, who was in
court when the court martial sentences were given.
The trial of
61 other athletes and sports officials is scheduled for Jan. 4. They
include handball, basketball and volleyball players along with referees
and administrators for several sports.
The charges include illegal assembly and inciting hatred against Bahrain's Sunni monarchy.
