An off-duty police officer in Bahrain has been shot dead in an attack claimed by a militant group, state news agency BNA reported.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said Sunday that 1st Lt. Hisham Hassan Mohammed Al-Hamadi was killed in what it described as a “terrorist act.”
The Ashtar Brigade, a Shiite militant group that has claimed a number of bombings and attacks in the tiny Gulf nation, claimed responsibility in a statement on social media. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the post, though it came in a forum often used by the group.
Lt. Hisham Al-Hammadi was killed in Bilad Al-Qadim near the capital Manama, and a preliminary investigation indicated he died as a result of a “terrorist attack,” BNA quoted the ministry as saying.
The ministry did not say when he was killed, nor did it specify the circumstances surrounding his death.
Bahrain has been rocked by unrest since 2011 when security forces crushed Shiite-led protests demanding a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister.
“The Interior Ministry mourns with great sadness and sorrow the martyr Lt. Hisham Hassan Mohammed Al-Hammadi, who was shot and killed in the Bilad Al-Qadeem area,” southwest of the capital Manama, the Interior Ministry said.
“Initial indications suggest that it was a terrorist act and that he was not on duty.”

Source : Arab News