Bahrain forces killed three fugitives on Thursday as they tried to flee by boat to Iran following a prison break, the government said.
Those killed were prisoners who escaped in the January 1 storming of Jaw prison or their accomplices, said the interior ministry.
It said seven other people on the boat were arrested in connection with the jailbreak, which freed 10 people serving long sentences for terrorism.
The boat had been spotted at dawn off Port Khalifa, east of the capital Manama, the ministry said.
“The occupants of the boat ignored police warnings and headed north before opening fire” at the police. The police returned fire and seized the boat.
One of those killed, aged 29, was a prisoner serving a life sentence, the ministry said.
It said the other two were aged 22 and 35, but gave no further details.
Earlier on Thursday, the ministry tweeted that “at dawn today, security forces foiled an attempt by terrorist fugitives to illegally flee by boat to Iran.”
Four gunmen stormed the Jaw prison south of Manama on New Year’s Day, killing a policeman and freeing 10 inmates convicted of terrorism offences.
The jail houses numerous Shiite prisoners held on charges of political violence.
Another two Bahrainis were arrested on Thursday, including a suspect in the deadly shooting of a policeman on January 29 in the Shiite village of Bilad Al Qadim, the ministry said.
They had two AK-47 assault rifles, it added.
Bahrain has been wracked by unrest since a crackdown on protests in 2011, mainly by island’s the Shiite majority, to demand political reforms.
The Shiite opposition has since been banned and many of its leaders given long jail terms, several of them on terrorism charges.
Seven of the prisoners who escaped from Jaw last month were serving life sentences.
Bahraini authorities have repeatedly accused Shiite Iran of fanning the unrest in the kingdom.
* Agence France-Presse
