A Bahraini policeman has died of wounds from a bomb blast during protests marking Friday’s third anniversary of the country’s uprising.
According to the interior ministry, he was one of two officers wounded in a “terror blast” in the village of Dair.
Another three policemen were injured by an explosion near the village of Dih.
Protesters were marking the 2011 unrest fuelled by demands for more rights and an end to discrimination against the majority Shia community.
On Friday demonstrators attempted to reach the site of a bloody crackdown on demonstrators almost three years ago.
Several demonstrators were reportedly wounded by security forces. The interior ministry said in a statement that 26 people were arrested on suspicion of “rioting and vandalism”.
Police used tear gas to stop them from reaching the Pearl Roundabout, which was a focus of protests in 2011.
A Bahraini policeman has died of wounds from a bomb blast during protests marking Friday’s third anniversary of the country’s uprising
Since then, police and demonstrators have scuffled almost daily. Thousands of people have been arrested.
Associated Press quoted the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights as saying 38 protesters had been hurt in clashes since Thursday evening, with injuries caused by birdshot fire, tear gas and beatings.
The government and opposition have held two rounds of fruitless reconciliation talks, with a third expected soon.
The protesters are mostly from poorer, Shia areas in the villages outside the capital.
Protesters have repeatedly used burning tyres and other debris as a tactic to block police vehicles from entering Shia areas.
Sunni Muslims are a minority in the country but through the al-Khalifa dynasty have ruled over the Shia Muslim majority for more than 200 years.
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A bomb explosion in Karachi has killed at least 25 people, Pakistani police say.
The blast in the mainly Shia Muslim area of Abbas Town destroyed several buildings and set others on fire. Some reports spoke of a second explosion.
Rescuers have been struggling to reach people thought to be trapped under the rubble.
Pakistan’s Shia minority are the target of frequent sectarian attacks from Sunni militant groups.
The explosion sent a huge column of smoke into the sky above Karachi and caused a power cut in part of the city.
Residents have been using car headlights to help rescuers search for survivors, local media reports said.
More than 50 people were injured, and there are fears the number of dead will rise.
Rescue work was delayed as some residents fired guns into the air in anger at the carnage, reports say.
Pakistan’s main political and religious leaders rushed to condemn the attack – the latest to target the Shia minority.
The blast in the mainly Shia Muslim area of Abbas Town destroyed several buildings and set others on fire
Nearly 200 people were killed in two separate bombings targeting the Shia community in the south-western city of Quetta in January and February.
Some relatives of the victims there initially refused to bury their dead in protest at what they said was the failure of the authorities to protect their community from attack.
No group has yet said it carried out the Karachi bombing, but correspondents say suspicion is likely to fall on Sunni militant groups.
Groups such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi regard Shia Muslims as heretics and have stepped up attacks in recent years.
Some activists called 2012 the worst year in living memory for attacks on Pakistan’s Shia community.
Karachi – Pakistan’s biggest city and commercial capital – has a long history of violence.
As well as a sectarian divide between Sunni and Shia, that city has also seen conflict between different ethnic communities – Pashtuns from north-west Pakistan, Mohajirs (immigrants from India following the Partition) and Sindhis.
At least nineteen Shia Muslim pilgrims have been killed by a bomb attack on a bus convoy in southwest Pakistan, local officials say.
More than 20 people have been injured in the incident in the Mastung district of Baluchistan province.
Pakistan has experienced worsening sectarian violence in recent years. Last month 23 Shia Muslims were killed by a bomb in the city of Rawalpindi.
No group has yet said it carried out Sunday’s bombing.
At least nineteen Shia Muslim pilgrims have been killed by a bomb attack on a bus convoy in southwest Pakistan
Initial reports said it had been detonated by remote control but a government official said it had been a suicide attack.
Officials said that some of those injured were in a critical condition and that the death toll may rise.
The bus convoy had reportedly been on their way to neighboring Iran, a Shia-majority country and popular pilgrimage destination.
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