Bahrain Mirror- AFP: Police in Bahrain used tear gas and buckshot Wednesday to disperse protesters who took to the streets following prayers for three Shiites executed over a deadly bombing, witnesses said.

Dozens of people took part in the demonstration in the Shiite village of Sanabis, east of the capital Manama, following prayer services for the three men who were executed on Sunday.

The protesters were trying to reach the area of Manama's Pearl roundabout, which was the focal point for a Shiite-led uprising in February 2011, the witnesses said.

Bahrain's High Court last week upheld the death sentences against the trio convicted of a bomb attack in March 2014 that killed three policemen.

Seven other defendants received life terms.

Tensions in the Sunni-ruled kingdom have been on the rise since the executions, which drew international condemnation.

Masked men set a municipal building ablaze on Monday in a nearby village, and demonstrations broke out across Shiite villages.

A Bahraini court also on Wednesday sentenced four Shiites to life in prison, while jailing eight others for between three and 10 years over a bombing that targeted police in July 2015, a judicial source said.

The Shiite majority in Bahrain, which has been ruled by the Al-Khalifa dynasty for more than two centuries, has long complained of marginalisation and the country has been rocked by sporadic unrest since 2011.

Bahrain is a strategic ally of the United States and home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.

Arabic Version