Bahraini teenager killed by security forces

Bahraini security forces shot dead a teenager late on Friday as they attacked a group of protesters in the province of Muharraq, north-east of Manama.

A statement by the Interior Ministry said 16-year-old Hossam Al-Haddad was shot when security forces fired in self defense after they "came under a terrorist attack with a large number of petrol bombs."

But his family denied that he was involved in the clashes, with his father telling al-Wast newspaper that he was beaten to death.

“My son was going to buy a meal, at which time the area was witnessing security skirmishes. He was stopped by a group of security forces and beaten,” Mohammed said.

“He was taken to hospital and we were not allowed to visit him until news arrived of his death.”

The Director General of Police Directorate of Muharraq said that security forces were called to deal with an attack by a group of “terrorists” using petrol bombs which “caused damage to some public and private property and the intimidation of citizens."

The opposition political party al-Wefaq condemned the "barbaric" attack on the teenager and posted pictures of Haddad on its Facebook page showing his back and right arm riddled with shotgun pellets, a weapon widely used by Bahraini security forces along with tear gas to disperse protesters.

Al-Wefaq said the funeral of Haddad would take place in Muharraq later on Saturday.

An unverified photo posted on social networking sites alleged to show Haddad's body after the attack. (Photo: Al-Wefaq)

Meanwhile, it was announced that Iran will not reciprocate after Bahrain announced it would reinstate its ambassador in Tehran.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that the Gulf state's rulers were still repressing the country's people.

"As long as the regime's repression of the Bahraini people goes on, Iran will not take any decision to return its ambassador to Manama," the website of Iran's Arabic-language al-Alam television quoted Amir Abdollahian as saying.

"The return of the Bahraini ambassador to Tehran was a decision of the Bahraini government," he added.

Bahrain announced last Sunday that it had returned its ambassador to Iran, after an absence of nearly 18 months amid a deep rift between the two governments over pro-democracy protests that erupted in the kingdom in February last year.

Manama recalled its ambassador from Tehran on 15 March 2011 in protest at what it said was Iran's "blatant interference" in its internal affairs. Tehran retaliated by recalling its envoy from Manama.

Human rights group Amnesty International says 60 people have been killed since the protests first erupted in Bahrain in February last year.

(Al-Akhbar, AFP)