The insurgency in Bahrain is an ongoing

insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric warfare, asymmetric nature: small irregular forces ...

by militant groups, part of the Bahraini Opposition, supported by

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, to topple the government of

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Timeline

2011

*The insurgency began in 2011, with the start of the Bahraini uprising.

2012

*On 10 April 2012, a bomb attack injured seven policemen in Akr. *On 5 November 2012, at least five homemade bombs exploded in the nation's capital, killing 2 Asian workers and injuring another.

2013

*On 12 July 2013, a home-made bomb wounded Bahraini policemen outside the Shiite village, according to the interior ministry. State-media claimed it was "planted by terrorists" near the capital, Manama.

2014

*On 15 February 2014, one policeman was killed in a bombing. *On 3 March 2014, three policeman were killed in a bombing by

Al-Ashtar Brigades The al-Ashtar Brigades (''Saraya al-Ashtar'', named after Malik al-Ashtar), or AAB for short, is the paramilitary branch of the Islamic Resistance in Bahrain, a Shia Islamist militant group designated as a terrorist organization by the governmen ...

, including an Emirati officer, in the 2014 Daih bombing. *On 19 April 2014, two men were killed and another injured after their car exploded. They were suspected to be militants transporting explosives. *On 5 July 2014, policeman Mahmud Farid was killed in a bombing in Eker village.

2015

*On 28 July 2015, a bomb killed two policemen and wounded six in Sitra in the 2015 Sitra bombing.

2016

*On 30 June 2016, 1 person was killed and 3 injured after a roadside bombing. 2 people were arrested who were suspected of planting the bomb. Bahrain accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards for being behind the bombing, although this is only an accusation, and does not rule out the possibility of terrorism. U.S. Vice President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

expressed his concerns after the attack. The bombing was described as a "terrorist bombing". *On 1 July 2016, one woman was killed and three children injured in a bombing.

2017

*On 1 January 2017, one policeman was killed and a second injured in a jailbreak conducted by four-six armed men at Jaww prison. 10 inmates convicted of terrorist offenses escaped. *On 15 January 2017, three militants (Abbas al-Samea, Sami Mushaima and Ali al-Singace) were executed for the 3 March 2014 bombing. *On 29 January 2017, a police officer in Bahrain was shot dead in an attack claimed by a Shi'ite militant group. *On 18 June 2017, a member of the security forces was killed and two others were wounded after a bombing in Diraz. *On 19 June, a Shia militant accidentally blew himself up with an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

. *In June 2017, Saraya al-Mukhtar performs a

cyberattack A cyberattack (or cyber attack) occurs when there is an unauthorized action against computer infrastructure that compromises the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of its content. The rising dependence on increasingly complex and inte ...

on a former government official's

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account. *On 2 October 2017, five policemen were injured in a bombing in the village of Daih on Budaiya road. *On 27 October 2017, one policeman was killed and eight wounded in a bombing of a bus near the Jidhafs area. *On 10 November 2017, a bomb caused a fire at Bahrain's main pipeline near Buri village.

2018

*On 7 February 2018, four members of the cell behind the bomb attack on the oil pipeline were arrested. *On 3 March 2018, 116 militants who were part of cells established by the

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...

were arrested.

2019

*On 27 July 2019, two alleged militants were executed by the state on charges of terrorism. Both were allegedly involved in the January 1, 2017 killing of a prison guard that helped let 10 detainees escape, as well as the for the killings of two other police officers that month. The two were arrested in February 2017.

2020

*On 15 December 2020, the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

added the Saraya Al-Mukhtar (aka. Bahraini Islamic Resistance, aka. Al-Mukhtar Brigades, etc.) to the Specially Designated Nationals list, subjecting it to economic sanctions imposed by the United States. The sanctions were imposed due to their connections with Iran.

2021

*In November the Bahraini government says it has foiled an attempted attack by insurgents.

2022

2023

2024

*27 April:

conducted a drone attack against the offices of an Israeli company in Eilat. *2 May:

conducted a drone attack against Eilat's port on 2 May.

References

{{Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict 2010s conflicts 2020s conflicts 2010s in Bahrain 2020s in Bahrain Conflicts in 2011 Conflicts in 2012 Conflicts in 2013 Conflicts in 2014 Conflicts in 2015 Conflicts in 2016 Conflicts in 2017 Conflicts in 2018 Conflicts in 2019 Conflicts in 2020 Conflicts in 2021 2011 in Bahrain 2012 in Bahrain 2013 in Bahrain 2014 in Bahrain 2015 in Bahrain 2016 in Bahrain 2017 in Bahrain 2018 in Bahrain 2019 in Bahrain 2020 in Bahrain 2021 in Bahrain Bahrain–Iran relations Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict Iran–Saudi Arabia relations Rebellions in Bahrain Shia–Sunni sectarian violence Wars involving Bahrain