Gulf | Bahrain
Youths arrested for fatal attack on ministry vehicle
A number of people were arrested over links to an attack on Wednesday on an Interior Ministry car that killed a policeman and injured two others, reports have said.
- By Habib Toumi Bureau Chief
- Published: 00:14 April 13, 2008
- Shaikh Ali Salman. Al Wefaq leader
- Image Credit: Supplied picture
Manama: A number of people were arrested over links to an attack on Wednesday on an Interior Ministry car that killed a policeman and injured two others, reports have said.
There was no statement from the police about the number of the arrests, but reports and a source close to the Interior Ministry said six were arrested on Thursday and four on Friday amid intense pressure on the Interior Ministry to catch the perpetrators promptly and bring them to justice.
According to Al Wasat newspaper, the suspects were aged between 22 and 27, and included two brothers. Masked people hurled Molotov cocktails at the police car patrolling the area near Karzakan, a village to the southwest of Manama, that has been closely monitored by the police following an arson attack in February on a farm that belonged to Shaikh Abdul Aziz Bin Atiyatallah Al Khalifa, a senior security official.
Condemnation
The attack in which the policeman, Majid Asghar Ali, 24, was killed, and two were lightly injured, has sparked wide condemnation from senior officials and from political and religious leaders.
Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa pledged zero tolerance towards the perpetrators, saying that the attack was "a dangerous and unjustified escalation" and pledged a zero-tolerance policy against "criminal acts and violations of the law".
Offering his condolences to the family of the policeman whom he visited on Friday, Crown Prince Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa said he "deeply regretted and strongly condemned the attack". Shaikh Eisa Qassem, one of the most powerful religious leaders, said in his Friday sermon that blood letting was a form of "dark ignorance" and that Islam condemned killings.
Al Wefaq, the largest political society, condemned the attack, saying that influential leaders should put an immediate end to "the ridiculous tinkering that has caused death and destruction in the last few months".
"Thank God, there are no weapons with the people in Bahrain, otherwise we would have seen the death of thousands of people," Shaikh Ali Salman, Al Wefaq leader, said in his Friday sermon.
Islamist MPs Jassem Al Saeedi and Abdul Halim Murad called for the execution of the attackers, saying that the fatal attack was a bad omen for the country's future and that the authorities had to be strict.
Thank God, there are no weapons with the people in Bahrain, otherwise we would have seen the death of thousands of people."
Share this article
Popular in News
News Editor's choice
-
Reader helps police to bust brothel
More than 20 gang members recently arrested from running brothels in Dubai
-
Philippine areas under emergency rule
Toll rises to 46 in brutal kidnap and murder in the south
-
Obama seeks to reassure Singh on ties
Singh is on elaborate state visit that will include talks on US ties with Pakistan
