Blast near British Embassy in Bahrain

Local Editor

Aerial view of the British embassy in Bahrain A ‘small’ explosion took place in a bus parked near the British embassy in the Bahraini capital on Sunday, Bahraini interior ministry said. "A blast from the front part of a bus parked near the British embassy in Ras Rumman," the diplomatic district of Manama, the ministry tweeted, without reporting casualties. "Security services are present in the area to take the needed legal measures," it added. "I can confirm that there was an explosion" in a vehicle, said Al-Taher al-Jamal, a press officer at the British embassy. But he could not say if the mission had been targeted. The British embassy in Tehran was spontaneously stormed last Tuesday by a group of students after London slapped new sanctions on Iran over its controversial nuclear program. On Friday, Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that former British police boss John Yates and US ex-cop John Timoney will oversee reforms to Bahrain's security force after a report found it guilty of human rights abuses. A special independent commission probing Bahrain's brutal crackdown on peaceful protests in February-March said on November 23 that police had used "excessive force" and tortured detainees, prompting King Hamad to vow reforms. The king commissioned the report to investigate allegations of government misconduct and human rights abuses against peaceful protesters, democracy activists and opposition figures. The death toll from Bahrain's uprising reached 35, including five security personnel, the report found. Five detainees were tortured to death while in custody, and hundreds were also injured, the report added.

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