2 policemen hurt in Eker blast
Manama, March 12, 2014
Bahrain's policemen were targeted again by terrorists who set up booby traps, and hurled firebombs and other deadly projectiles at them.
Two policemen were injured after a homemade bomb exploded in East Eker. It went off as officers were clearing a booby-trapped roadblock at the entrance of the village at about 4pm, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
Dozens of police vehicles rushed to the scene and cordoned off all entrances while they swept the area for other improvised explosive devices.
"There was a bomb that exploded putting two officers in hospital," an Interior Ministry official confirmed at the scene.
"They were going to clear a roadblock when a bomb exploded.
"It is still not known if the bomb was remotely detonated or not.
"It was a trap."
Police later issued a statement saying the officers had suffered "minor to medium" injuries.
Armoured police cars, Special Forces, forensics, K9 units, crime scene vans and dozens of Public Security vehicles were on the scene following the blast.
A police checkpoint was set up around 100m away from the site of the explosion and all motorists were turned away by security forces, who said it was too dangerous to let anyone in.
The GDN counted at least 28 police cars at the entrance of the village and the only ones that came out were two Special Forces vehicles, several armoured police cars and patrol vehicles.
Rioters also attacked a security checkpost in Sitra, damaging police vehicles and civilian cars.
The escalation in violence comes amid growing outrage among Bahrainis and a pledge by authorities to clamp down hard on acts of terror.
The Eker blast comes nine days after another homemade bomb exploded in Daih, killing three police officers and wounding seven.
The Interior Ministry said the two policemen were injured in the blast as they were working with a third colleague to secure the area of rioters in the village.
The official said police were having to deal with an increasing number of bomb threats.
"The reason there are more is because they (the perpetrators) are making more real bombs these days and less dummy bombs," he said.
An investigation is underway. - TradeArabia News Service
