Bahraini policeman killed by petrol bomb

Bahrain says a police officer has been killed and two others seriously wounded in a petrol bomb attack, AP reported.

The attack took place on Saturday night in Karbabad, a village in the north of the island kingdom.

The interior ministry is investigating the attack while locals said a large security presence had gathered around the area.

The ministry did not elaborate on who throw the bomb, beyond describing the attack as a "terrorist act".

Protesters in Bahrain have thrown similar bombs in skirmishes with authorities before.

A week ago Manama issued a list of 68 organisations it regards as "terror groups", including a number of groups involved in organising anti-government protests.

The kingdom has seen unrest since Arab Spring-inspired protests began there in 2011, and opposition to the Sunni royal family has been particularly strong among the country's majority-Shia population.

Bahrain's oil minister is attending a big meeting of major oil producers in Doha today on freezing oil production levels. 

Bahrain is among the Gulf countries that has been hardest hit by low oil prices, and running an austerity programme to cut a government deficit which threatens to upset the social balance even further.