At least one officer killed in Bahrain blast

At least one Bahraini police officer died Saturday in an alleged bombing attack, according to the Associated Press.

Authorities told AP that Officer Mahmood Fareed died of wounds from a blast in the village of Eker that was reported Friday.

Police were still investigating the attack at the time of the report, but anti-government activists often conduct such small bomb attacks against police on a relatively frequent basis.

Bahraini leadership has attempted to crack down on the Shiite-majority opposition since initial uprisings attracted international attention in 2011.

Manama has been largely supported by its allies from Riyadh as well as Washington in such crackdown efforts, despite clear evidence and growing criticism led by international rights organizations of Bahrain's human rights violations against opposition figures.