Bahrain city hall torched

It comes amid fresh tensions in the kingdom have been on the rise since the three Shiites were executed by firing squad on Sunday.

A municipal building in Bahrain was set ablaze as fresh violence erupted over the executions of three men convicted of a deadly bomb attack on police.

Tensions in the kingdom have been on the rise since the three Shiites were executed by firing squad on Sunday.

A municipal building was torched overnight in Shamalia, in the Shiite area of Aali, south of the capital Manama, the interior ministry said on Monday.

“According to initial reports, the fire was intentional,” the ministry said on Twitter, adding that it had been brought under control.

Bahrain’s highest court last week upheld the death sentences against the trio convicted of a bomb attack in March 2014 which killed three policemen, including Emirati officer Lt Tariq Al Shehi from Ras Al Khaimah. Seven other defendants received life terms.

Al Shehi was part of a Saudi-led Gulf force which rolled into Bahrain in March 2011 to help quell the protests.

On Sunday, protests broke out after the executions - the first to be carried out in the kingdom since 2010 and the first for terrorism since 1996.

Demonstrators blocked roads with burning tyres and threw firebombs, and police retaliated by firing tear gas, according to posts on social media.

The confrontations continued overnight, with dozens of men and women marching through the streets of the village of Sanabis, according to witnesses.

Demonstrators tried to reach the main street of Sanabis, the hometown of the three executed men, but were blocked by security forces.

* Agence France-Presse