Bahrain bomb blasts kill 2

— A series of bomb blasts in Bahrain’s capital killed two people Monday, authorities said, a sign that some factions within the opposition may be increasingly turning to violence in the nearly 21-month uprising against the Gulf nation’s Western-backed rulers.

The apparently coordinated string of five explosions in Manama — described by officials as “terrorism” — comes less than a week after Bahrain banned all protest gatherings in attempts to quell the deepening unrest in the strategic kingdom, which is home the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Clashes have not eased, including crowds pelting three police stations with firebombs early Sunday. More than 55 people have been killed Bahrain’s unrest since February 2011 as the nation’s majority Shiites press for a greater political voice in the Sunni-ruled island nation.

Officials also suggested three could be crackdowns against Shiite religious leaders, and that could sharply intensify the clashes. Government spokesman Sameera Rajab blamed the attacks on statements by some Shiite “religious figures who haven’t ceased inciting violence against civilians and police.”

She said authorities would show “zero tolerance” in its efforts to stamp out unrest.

In Monday’s violence, two Asian men were killed and a third person was injured as at least five homemade explosive devices were detonated, the Interior Ministry said. One man died after kicking a bomb and triggered an explosion, and the other died from injuries in a separate blast, officials said. The dead were a 29-year-old Indian and a 33-year-old citizen of Bangladesh, they said. A 33-year-old Indian was wounded.

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