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Bahrain Security Forces Kill 5

Bahrain Security Forces Kill 5
Bahrain Security Forces Kill 5

Five people were killed in Bahrain after security forces launched an operation near the home of the kingdom’s Shia-Muslim cleric.

The raid on Tuesday took place in Diraz, the home village of Ayatollah Isa Qassim and the site of a sit-in encampment of his followers, AP reported.

Security forces opened fire and killed five of the followers, claiming that the forces were attacked.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry in statement said 286 people had been arrested, including those who had escaped from Jau prison.

It was unclear on Tuesday if Ayatollah Qassim was one of the detained. A security officer told Reuters the cleric was not the target of the operation.

The raid followed the cleric’s sentencing this week to one year in jail, suspended for three years. The cleric faces expulsion from the kingdom after authorities revoked his citizenship last year.

Ebtasam Alsaegh, from the neighboring village of Bani Jamra, said mosques were calling residents onto the streets to protect Qassim.

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