Manama, Bahrain: Experts say a US Patriot missile is likely behind the cause of a huge explosion in Bahrain injuring dozens of civilians, including children, in a neighborhood near an oil factory, Reuters reported, as published by the Economic Times.
The incident occurred on March 9, 10 days into the US war with Iran.
The blast tore through homes in the Mahazza neighbourhood on Sitra island, near an oil refinery offshore from Manama. Bahrain and Washington initially blamed an Iranian drone attack, with the Gulf kingdom reporting 32 injuries, including children, some serious. US Central Command stated on X that day: “an Iranian drone struck a residential neighborhood in Bahrain.”
A Bahraini government spokesperson stated that the missile successfully intercepted an Iranian drone mid-air, thereby saving lives. “The damage and injuries sustained were not a result of a direct impact to the ground of either the Patriot interceptor or the Iranian drone,” the spokesperson said. Neither Bahrain nor Washington has offered evidence confirming an Iranian drone’s involvement in the Mahazza incident.Neither side has shared evidence of the drone.
The Pentagon referred questions to Central Command, which did not reply. A White House official told Reuters: “the United States was ‘crushing’ Iran’s ability to shoot or produce drones and missiles. ‘We will continue to address these threats to our country and our allies,’ the official said, adding that the U.S. military ‘never targets civilians.'” The official skipped specifics on the Patriot.
Video verified by the news agency shows rubble, dust-covered streets, an injured man, and screaming residents. Both nations deploy US Patriots in Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
Middlebury Institute munitions experts reviewed visuals and satellite imagery, concluding with moderate-to-high confidence the missile launched from a US battery 4 miles southwest. Two target experts and a Patriot researcher endorsed it with former Pentagon advisor Wes Bryant terming the conclusions “pretty undeniable.”
Bahrain didn’t explain its initial silence on the Patriot or who fired it, while Iran’s UN mission offered no comment. Raytheon, the RTX unit producing Patriots, stayed silent.
The incident is similar to a February 28 US strike possibly hitting an Iranian girls’ school due to outdated data, per Reuters sources.
