Two killed in bomb blast

A bomb exploded during an attempt to defuse it today, killing two soldiers and wounding 10 others, the official Gulf News Agency said.

The agency said 1st Sgt Ali Ebrahim and Cpl Faisal Nasser Rashed died in the accident at 8:50am local time (0550 Irish time).

Five of the ten wounded soldiers were admitted to the Bahrain Defence Force Hospital, while the others were discharged after treatment for minor injuries, the agency said.

Details of the blast were sketchy, but the agency said that a group of military engineers were attempting to defuse a bomb used for training purposes when it exploded.

Bahrain, which is the regional base of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, has more than 20,000 troops in its defence force.