Bahraini officials are accusing Iran of providing the weaponry used Tuesday during a deadly terror attack that killed two policeman in the archipelago nation.
On Tuesday morning, two policeman were killed and a third officer severely injured when a bomb exploded outside of a girls’ school in Sitra, an island village in the country, almost exclusively populated by Shiites. Five others sustained light to medium injuries, according to reports.
The bomb blast created a giant hole in the wall of the school, a witness told Reuters.
Sitra is known for its frequent clashes with government officials and officers, who are employed by the Sunni-led Khalifa monarchy.
State-run Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported, “Preliminary details indicate that the explosives used in the terror attack in Sitra this morning are of the same type that smugglers have recently attempted to sneak from Iran into the Kingdom [of Bahrain].”
Over the weekend, Bahrain recalled its ambassador to Tehran in protest of what officials alleged was an Iran-backed plot to smuggle arms and explosives into the country, which would be used to carry out terror operations.
Following the terror attacks, top institutions in the country condemned Iran for “meddling in the internal affairs of Bahrain.”
Bahraini Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa placed blame squarely on Iran for being behind the attack, saying that he rejected any “foreign interference” in Bahrain’s internal affairs, BNA reported.
In a later tweet, he alleged that both Sunni and Shiite terrorists are being backed by Iran. “Their goal is the same, and their reference point is Iran,” said al Khalifa.
“Bahrain faced many crises and challenges which targeted its security, stability and sovereignty but could emerge stronger and was able to bring about many achievements to its people which won the appreciation of the whole world,” added the Prime Minister.