Bomb blast hits outside Bahraini capital

A bomb exploded on a main thoroughfare on the outskirts of the Bahraini capital Manama on Sunday, in what the interior ministry described as a "terrorist" act.

Several cars were damaged but no injuries were reported.

There have been increased protests in the Sunni Muslim-ruled kingdom after the execution last month of three Shia Muslim men convicted of killing three policemen in a bomb attack in 2014.

Bahrain has suffered unrest and several bomb attacks since the 2011 uprisings led by its Shia majority were repressed with the help of the country's Gulf Arab neighbours.

An off-duty policeman was shot dead outside the capital late last month in what authorities also deemed a politically-motivated attack.