Bahrain Jails 2 for 15 Years for Attacking Police

A Bahrain court Sunday handed down 15-year jail terms to two people convicted of trying to kill police officers in the Gulf state rocked by violence for three years.

The official BNA news agency cited acting chief prosecutor Mohammed Salah as saying the two were found guilty of premeditated attempted murder and possessing a Kalashnikov assault rifle and ammunition.

BNA said the prosecution found that the "defendants had intended to kill a number of policemen" and "waited for the victims and shot at their vehicle."

Scores of Shiite Muslims have been tried over unrest in the Sunni-ruled kingdom that followed Arab Spring-inspired protests in mid-February 2011.

The International Federation for Human Rights says at least 89 people have been killed since the uprising began three years ago.

Last year the authorities increased the penalties for those convicted of violence, introducing the death sentence or life terms in the case of people being killed or wounded.