Bahrain investigating blast near British embassy

MANAMA // A bomb blew apart the front of a minibus near the British Embassy in Bahrain's capital yesterday, the interior ministry said. There were no injuries or other serious damage.

A spokesman Salah Salem described the material used in the device 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.

Mr Salem said the blast ripped away one of wheels from the minibus and shattered its windows in a public car park about 50 metres from the British Embassy in 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, which prompted Britain to pull its diplomats from Iran and expel Iranian envoys from London.

* Associated Press