![57a906ec-Mideast Bahrain](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2018/09/1200/675/e0914757e5c2d129450f6a7067009a99.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Masked Bahraini anti-government protesters wearing handcuffs hold cameras up to show support for jailed photographers during a march in Saar, Bahrain, on Friday, Dec. 13, 2013. Thousands participated in the march organized by opposition parties to mark 1,000 days since the pro-democracy uprising began in the Gulf island kingdom. As the peaceful march dispersed, a group of masked youths confronted riot police nearby, igniting clashes. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali) (The Associated Press)
MANAMA, Bahrain – Bahrain's interior ministry says two policemen have been wounded, one critically, when a homemade bomb exploded in a village southwest of the capital, Manama.
The ministry said in a statement on its official Twitter feed that the explosion happened early Tuesday in the village of Demistan. The area has been the scene of frequent clashes between anti-government activists and Bahrain security forces.
Bahrain is a small island kingdom off the coast of Saudi Arabia that hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.
More than 65 people have been killed in violence since protests led by the country's Shiite majority began in February 2011 calling for a greater political voice in the Sunni-ruled nation. Some rights groups place the death toll higher.
Anti-government factions have been increasingly deploying bombs targeting government forces.